Origin and evolution of symbiotic viruses associated with parasitoid wasps

Jean-Michel Drezen (1) , Germain Chevignon (1) , Faustine Louis (1, 2) , Elisabeth Huguet (1)

1 IRBI - Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte
2 Laboratoire des arbovirus et insectes vecteurs

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.

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Virologie

Jean-Michel Drezen, Germain Chevignon, Faustine Louis, Elisabeth Huguet. Origin and evolution of symbiotic viruses associated with parasitoid wasps. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2014, 6, pp.35-43. ⟨10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.008⟩. ⟨hal-01313719⟩