Abstract:  Most plant viruses and some plant pathogenic bacteria are transmitted by insect vectors. Understandings on plant pathogen-insect vector interactions can facilitate the recognition of key issues in effective management of plant pathogens and their vectors. Therefore, pathogen-vector interaction has become one of the core topics in the studies of pathogen transmission mechanisms. This article reviewed the recent research progress in plant pathogen-insect vector interactions, introduced the main contents of papers in this issue, and based on them proposed the following three directions for future research from ecological and evolutionary perspectives: (1) the roles of the interactions between plant pathogens and insect vectors in reshaping ecological systems; (2) the inter-relationships between different modes of plant virus transmission by insect vectors, and issues related to co-evolution among viruses, vectors and plants; and (3) the mechanisms of interactions between plant pathogens and insect vectors in nature. Studies on plant pathogen-insect vector interactions are not only fundamentals in ecology and evolutionary biology, but closely related to effective management of plant pathogens and their insect vectors as well.

Key words: Plant pathogen, insect vector, molecular mechanism, vector behavior, ecology, co-evolution