Abstract:
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius is a globally important invasive agricultural pest that threatens crop production and ecological security because of its broad host range, high reproductive capacity, rapid evolution of insecticide resistance, and ability to transmit numerous plant viruses. Entomopathogenic fungi are considered valuable resources for the green management of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius because they are environmentally safe, have a low risk of resistance development, and are compatible with integrated pest management programs. In actual application, the strong immune defense ability of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius greatly affected the infection efficiency of fungi and the field efficacy. The cuticular barrier, humoral and cellular immune responses, reactive oxygen species metabolism, and the phenoloxidase system of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius worked together to form a complete defense network against fungi. In recent years, with the development of multi-omics technologies and RNA interference researches, the mechanism of the interaction between
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and insect pathogenic fungi has been further studied. Studies indicated that fungal infection could trigger a series of host defense responses involving pathogen recognition, signal transduction, antioxidant regulation, and melanization. miRNA has emerged as important post-transcriptional regulator in antifungal immunity, metabolic adjustment, and stress responses of host, providing a useful entry point for understanding host-entomopathogenic fungi interactions. Concurrently, novel technologies, encompassing plant-mediated small RNA delivery, genetically modified entomopathogenic fungi that expressed small RNA, and RNAi-based synergistic approaches in conjunction with fungal biocontrol, have unveiled fresh prospects for the environmentally friendly and precise management of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius. Meanwhile, the development of delivery and formulation technologies such as nanocarriers, liposomes, nano-clay, and biobased carriers was expected to enhance the stability of dsRNA/miRNA in the leaf surface environment, the efficiency of insect uptake, and the synergistic effect with entomopathogenic fungi. However, RNA-based biopesticides are currently still in the critical stage of transitioning from laboratory research to field application and productization. Their commercial promotion still faces multiple challenges such as target selection, delivery efficiency, production costs, field stability, ecological safety assessment, and resistance risk management. The article focused on the interaction mechanism between
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and entomopathogenic fungi, and reviewed the research progress in the control of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius using entomopathogenic fungi, the defense mechanisms of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius against entomopathogenic fungi, the regulatory role of miRNA in the antifungal immunity of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, as well as new green control strategies for
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius based on RNAi and biological delivery. It also analyzed and forecasted the main problems existing in current researches and the future development directions. Although the existing researches have achieved certain progress, there are still issues such as unclear key targets and their mechanisms, poor efficiency and stability of small RNA delivery, insufficient safety and field application evaluation of engineered bacteria. Future researches should focus on clarifying key targets and their mechanisms, further strengthening stable delivery of small RNA, optimization of fungal preparations, field adaptability evaluation, ecological safety assessment and resistance risk management. This would promote the transformation of related technologies from mechanism research to application, integrate molecular regulation, biological control and preparation engineering, break through the limitations of single control method, and provide more solid theoretical basis and technical support for the innovation of green control technology and sustainable control of
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius.