Genome Sequencing of the Behavior Manipulating Virus LbFV Reveals a Possible New Virus Family.

ABSTRACT: Parasites are sometimes able to manipulate the behavior of their hosts. However, the molecular cues underlying this phenomenon are poorly documented. We previously reported that the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardi which develops from Drosophila larvae is often infected by an inherited DNA virus. In addition to being maternally transmitted, the virus benefits from horizontal transmission in superparasitized larvae (Drosophila that have been parasitized several times). Interestingly, the virus forces infected females to lay eggs in already parasitized larvae, thus increasing the chance of being horizontally transmitted. In a first step towards the identification of virus genes responsible for the behavioral manipulation, we present here the genome sequence of the virus, called LbFV. The

SUBMITTER: Lepetit D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5381508 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature