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Updated: Dec 10, 2025

An Introduction to Parasitic Wasps of Drosophila and the Antiparasite Immune Response
Published on: May 7, 2012
Origin and evolution of symbiotic viruses associated with parasitoid wasps
Jean-Michel Drezen1, Germain Chevignon1, Faustine Louis1
1Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, Université F. Rabelais, 37200 Tours, France.
Abstract:
The Polydnaviridae (PDV), including the Bracovirus (BV) and Ichnovirus (IV) genera, originated from the integration of viruses in the genomes of two parasitoid wasp lineages. In a remarkable example of convergent evolution BVs evolved from the domestication of a nudivirus, while IVs originate from a different ancestral virus belonging to a new virus entity. In both cases the ancestor genomes have been maintained in wasp genomes as endogenous viral elements involved in production of particles containing DNA encoding virulence genes that are injected into lepidopteran hosts. However many PDV virulence genes appear to be of eukaryotic origin, and expansion and diversification of these genes have led to the production of novel PDVs in different wasp species that promote survival of offspring in particular hosts.
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