Many evolutionary roads led to virus domestication in ichneumonoid parasitoid wasps

Bernardo F. Santos, Seraina Klopfstein, James B. Whitfield, Barbara J. Sharanowski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The investigation of endogenous viral elements (EVEs) has historically focused on only a few lineages of parasitoid wasps, with negative results consistently underreported. Recent studies show that multiple viral lineages were integrated in at least seven instances in Ichneumonoidea and may be much more widespread than previously thought. Increasingly affordable genomic and bioinformatic approaches have made it feasible to search for viral sequences within wasp genomes, opening an extremely promising research avenue. Advances in wasp phylogenetics have shed light on the evolutionary history of EVE integration, although many questions remain. Phylogenetic proximity can be used as a guide to facilitate targeted screening, to estimate the number and age of integration events and to identify taxa involved in major host switches.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number100861
JournalCurrent Opinion in Insect Science
Volume50
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Insect Science

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