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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416044
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Dating the origin of a viral domestication event in parasitoid wasps attacking Diptera

Author
item GUINET, BENJAMIN - University Of Lyon
item VOGEL, JONATHAN - Zoological Research Museum Alexnder Koenig
item PETERS, RALPH - Zoological Research Museum Alexnder Koenig
item HRCEK, JAN - University Of South Bohemia
item Buffington, Matthew
item VARALDI, JULIEN - University Of Lyon

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B. Biological Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2024
Publication Date: 1/22/2025
Citation: Guinet, B., Vogel, J., Peters, R., Hrcek, J., Buffington, M.L., Varaldi, J. 2025. Dating the origin of a viral domestication event in parasitoid wasps attacking Diptera. Proceedings of the Royal Society. B. Biological Sciences. 292:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2135.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2135

Interpretive Summary: The Hymenoptera is a group of insects that include the ants, bees and wasps. Among the wasps, there are species that have 'domesticated' viruses and 'captured' them into their genome. This bizarre feat provides the wasp with the ability to lay their eggs inside of other insects, and 'hide' there until the wasp larva has eaten enough of the 'host' to complete its own life cycle. Through this process, the wasp kills the host. Further, these wasps are very specific on what they can kill, as they have to have the right virus to trick the right host. The USDA uses these wasps to kill pest insects, saving hundreds of millions of dollars annual in crop loss and pesticide use. This paper will be used by researchers around the world looking for better, more effective biocontrolling wasps.

Technical Abstract: Over the course of evolution, hymenopteran parasitoids have developed a close relationship with heritable viruses, sometimes even integrating viral genes into their chromosomes. For example, in Drosophila parasitoids belonging to the Leptopilina genus, 13 viral genes from the Filamentoviridae family have been integrated and domesticated to deliver immunosuppressive factors to host immune cells, thereby protecting parasitoid offspring from host immune responses. The present study aims to comprehensively characterise this domestication event in terms of the viral genes involved, the wasp diversity affected by this event, and its chronology. Our genomic analysis of 41 Cynipoidea wasps from six subfamilies revealed 18 viral genes that were endogenised during the early radiation of the Eucoilini+Trichoplastini clade around 75 million years ago. Wasps from this highly diverse clade develop not only from Drosophila but also from a variety of Schizophora. This event coincides with the radiation of Schizophora, a highly speciose Diptera clade, suggesting that viral domestication facilitated wasp diversification in response to host diversification. Additionally, at least one viral gene was replaced by another Filamentovirus gene in one of the species, highlighting the dynamic nature of viral endogenisation. This study highlights the impact of viral domestication on the diversification of parasitoid wasps.