Insects (2012) 3, 91-119
Gaelen R. Burke and Michael R. Strand (2012)
Polydnaviruses of parasitic wasps: Domestication of viruses to act as gene delivery vectors
Insects 3 (1), 91-119
Abstract: Symbiosis is a common phenomenon in which associated organisms can cooperate in ways that increase their ability to survive, reproduce, or utilize hostile environments. Here, we discuss polydnavirus symbionts of parasitic wasps. These viruses are novel in two ways: (1) they have become non-autonomous domesticated entities that cannot replicate outside of wasps; and (2) they function as a delivery vector of genes that ensure successful parasitism of host insects that wasps parasitize. In this review we discuss how these novelties may have arisen, which genes are potentially involved, and what the consequences have been for genome evolution.
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Database assignments for author(s): Michael R. Strand
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
