Abstract Microbial symbionts significantly influence insect ecology, particularly in mediating host‐pathogen interactions that regulate pest population dynamics in agro‐ecosystems, such as those involving the Asian citrus psyllid ( Diaphorina citri ), a vector of Huanglongbing. This study investigates how Beauveria bassiana infection alters the cuticular microbiota of D. citri and identifies bacterial symbionts that modulate host susceptibility to the fungus. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we observed significant shifts in the diversity and composition of the cuticular bacterial community following B. bassiana infection. Two cuticle‐derived bacterial strains, Bacillus albus (CQC‐1) and Shouchella miscanthi (CQC‐32), isolated from the cuticle, exhibited potent antifungal activity, reducing B. bassiana spore germination by 94.53% and 73.50%, respectively, and increasing psyllid survival under fungal challenge to 71.3% and 65.2% compared with 16.4% in controls. These findings underscore the ecological role of cuticular symbionts in shaping host‐pathogen dynamics and suggest their potential for integration into sustainable pest management strategies for citrus agro‐ecosystems. They also clarify how cuticular bacterial communities respond to entomopathogenic fungi and influence insect‐pathogen interactions, with broader implications for microbial ecology and host‐microbe coevolution.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.