Vector-borne pathogens pose significant threats to agricultural productivity. Methods that exploit associations between insects and their symbiotic microbes, dubbed symbiont-mediated vector control, are emerging as viable alternatives to insecticides for the control of vector-borne agricultural plant pathogens. The development of methods for effective microbial manipulation, such as RNA interference and paratransgenesis, may facilitate symbiont-mediated vector control tactics aimed at either suppressing insect populations or at manipulating vector competence, an insect vector’s ability to acquire, harbor, and transmit pathogens. As suppression strategies transition from the laboratory to the field, the need for methods to evaluate their viability and predict their outcomes is apparent. Mathematical models of symbiont impact on agricultural disease can inform the development of symbiont-mediated vector control. We propose an integrative approach, combining theoretical and empirical experiments to identify the best practices for achieving meaningful improvements to crop health and productivity.

媒介传播的病原体对农业生产力构成重大威胁。利用昆虫和它们的共生微生物之间的联系的方法，被称为共生体介导的媒介控制，正在成为控制媒介传播的农业植物病原体的杀虫剂的可行替代品。RNA干扰和副转基因等有效微生物操纵方法的开发可能促进共生体介导的媒介控制策略，旨在抑制昆虫种群或操纵媒介能力，即昆虫媒介获取，藏匿和传播病原体的能力。随着抑制策略从实验室过渡到现场，对评估其生存能力和预测其结果的方法的需求显而易见。共生体对农业疾病影响的数学模型可以指导共生体介导的媒介控制的发展。我们提出了一种综合方法，将理论和经验实验相结合，以确定最佳方法，以实现对作物健康和生产力的有意义的改善。