Biological control mitigates spread of vector-borne plant pathogens

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

Name of Author

Kris A.G. Wyckhuys, Chrysalis Consulting
Yi Zou, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
David W. Crowder, Washington State University Pullman
Evie Adriani, Gorontalo University
Annabelle B. Albaytar, University of the Philippines Los Banos
Marie Joy B. Beltran, University of the Philippines Los Banos
Ibtissem Ben Fekih, Université de Liège
Carolina Camargo-Gil, Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar de Colombia (Cenicaña)
Filomena C. Filomena, University of the Philippines Los Banos
Lizette Cicero, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias
Yelitza C. Colmenarez, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"
Claudia M. Cuellar-Palacios, Universidad del Valle, Cali
Thomas Dubois, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Sanford D. Eigenbrode, University of Idaho
Frederic Francis, Université de Liège
Alberto Fereres, CSIC - Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA)
Khalid Haddi, Universidade Federal de Lavras
Fathiya M. Khamis, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Cécile Le Lann, Écosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution
Anne Le Ralec, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes
Lorena Lopez, NC State University
Baoqian Lyu, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences
James Montoya-Lerma, Universidad del Valle, Cali
Karen Muñoz-Cardenas, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Ihsan Nurkomar, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
Paola A. Palmeros-Suarez, Universidad de Guadalajara
Jermaine D. Perier, The University of Georgia Tifton Campus
Ricardo Ramírez-Romero, Universidad de Guadalajara

Publication Date

8-15-2025

Abstract

Diseases caused by vector-borne plant pathogens cause adverse impacts on yield resilience, food security, and farmer livelihoods, which are bound to aggravate under global change. Biological control is routinely discounted as a mitigation strategy for plant diseases, partially due to scarce and inconclusive empirical support. Here, using curated field survey data for 58 persistently or semi-persistently transmitted pathogens, we employ a multi-method approach to assess the role of resident (i.e., naturally occurring) biological control agents in these pathosystems. Our meta-analyses show how in planta pathogen incidence is strongly affected by vector abundance and infectivity. Meanwhile, biological control agent density negatively affects vector abundance and slows vector population build-up. Together, these relationships suggest that biological control lessens pathogen incidence by reducing vector abundance, though a paucity of data impedes direct, empirical demonstration of this effect. In particular, bipartite (mainly vector × pathogen) interactions have only been uncovered under field conditions for less than half of focal pathosystems. More so, just 5 % of studies simultaneously reported pathogen, vector, and biological control agent densities. Our study contests the long-standing dogma that arthropod-vectored pathogens cannot be mitigated through biological control, and accentuates how observational or manipulative field studies are imperative to grasp its full potential.

Keywords

Agroecology, Biological control agent-vector-virus interactions, Disease ecology, Interdisciplinarity, Vector-borne pathogens

Recommended Citation

Wyckhuys, K., Zou, Y., Crowder, D., Adriani, E., Albaytar, A., Beltran, M., Ben Fekih, I., Camargo-Gil, C., Filomena, F., Cicero, L., Colmenarez, Y., Cuellar-Palacios, C., Dubois, T., Eigenbrode, S., Francis, F., Fereres, A., Haddi, K., Khamis, F., Le Lann, C., Le Ralec, A., Lopez, L., Lyu, B., Montoya-Lerma, J., Muñoz-Cardenas, K., Nurkomar, I., Palmeros-Suarez, P., Perier, J., & Ramírez-Romero, R. (2025). Biological control mitigates spread of vector-borne plant pathogens. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 388 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109683