Gamliel-Atinsky, E., Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, 2311 Plant Sciences, 120 Carlton St., Athens, GA 30602, United States
Freeman, S., Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), P. O. Box 6, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel
Maymon, M., Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), P. O. Box 6, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel
Belausov, E., Microscopy Unit, The Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel
Ochoa, R., Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Agriculture Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
Bauchan, G., Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit, Agriculture Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
Skoracka, A., Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
Peña, J., Department of Entomology and Nematology, Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, United States
Palevsky, E., Department of Entomology, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, (ARO), P. O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel

A considerable number of plant feeding mites representing different families such as Acaridae, Siteroptidae, Tydeidae, and Tarsonemidae interact with plant pathogenic fungi. While species within the Eriophyoidea appear to be the most common phytophagous mites vectoring virus diseases, little is known of their role in fungal pathogen epidemiology. In the present article, we present two studies on eriophyoid-fungal relationships. The first focusing on the association between Aceria mangiferae and the fungal pathogen Fusarium mangiferae in mango is presented as a case study. The second, as the research is still in a preliminary phase, reports on quantitative and descriptive associations between the cereal rust mite Abacarus hystrix and rusts caused by Puccinia spp. Mango bud tissue colonized with F. mangiferae, and wheat and quackgrass leaves colonized with Puccinia spp., supported significantly higher populations of eriophyoid mites. Both mite species were observed bearing the spores of the respective pathogens on their body integument. Aceria mangiferae vectored the pathogen's spores into the bud, the sole port of entry for the fungal pathogen and the frequency and severity of fungal infection increased in the presence of A. mangiferae. While it appears that eriophyoids are playing a role in fungal epidemiology, clearly further research is needed to enhance our understanding of direct and indirect (plant mediated) interactions between plant pathogens and eriophyoid mites in different plant-pathogen systems. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.