A Horizontally Transferred Autonomous Helitron Became a Full Polydnavirus Segment in Cotesia vestalis
نویسندگان
چکیده
Bracoviruses associate symbiotically with thousands of parasitoid wasp species in the family Braconidae, working as virulence gene vectors, and allowing the development of wasp larvae within hosts. These viruses are composed of multiple DNA circles that are packaged into infective particles, and injected together with wasp's eggs during parasitization. One of the viral segments of Cotesia vestalis bracovirus contains a gene that has been previously described as a helicase of unknown origin. Here, we demonstrate that this gene is a Rep/Helicase from an intact Helitron transposable element that covers the viral segment almost entirely. We also provide evidence that this element underwent at least two horizontal transfers, which appear to have occurred consecutively: first from a Drosophila host ancestor to the genome of the parasitoid wasp C. vestalis and its bracovirus, and then from C. vestalis to a lepidopteran host (Bombyx mori). Our results reinforce the idea of parasitoid wasps as frequent agents of horizontal transfers in eukaryotes. Additionally, this Helitron-bracovirus segment is the first example of a transposable element that effectively became a whole viral circle.
منابع مشابه
Characterization of two genes of Cotesia vestalis polydnavirus and their expression patterns in the host Plutella xylostella.
Cotesia vestalis is an endoparasitoid of larval stages of Plutella xylostella, the diamondback moth. For successful parasitization, this parasitoid injects a polydnavirus into its host during oviposition. Here we isolated two genes, which we named CvBV1 and CvBV2. CvBV1 was located on segment CvBV-S5 with a size of 790 bp, while CvBV2 was located on segment CvBV-S51 with a size of 459 bp. A gen...
متن کاملTranscriptome Pyrosequencing of the Parasitoid Wasp Cotesia vestalis: Genes Involved in the Antennal Odorant-Sensory System
Cotesia vestalis is an endoparasitic wasp that attacks larvae of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), a herbivore of cruciferous plants. Females of C. vestalis use herbivore-induced plant odorants released from plants infested by P. xylostella as a host-searching cue. Transcriptome pyrosequencing was used to identify genes in the antennae of C. vestalis adult females coding for odorant r...
متن کاملParasitism Performance and Fitness of Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Infected with Nosema sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae): Implications in Integrated Pest Management Strategy
The diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) has traditionally been managed using synthetic insecticides. However, the increasing resistance of DBM to insecticides offers an impetus to practice integrated pest management (IPM) strategies by exploiting its natural enemies such as pathogens, parasitoids, and predators. Nevertheless, the interactions between pathogens and parasitoids and/or...
متن کاملCotesia vestalis teratocytes express a diversity of genes and exhibit novel immune functions in parasitism
Some endoparasitoid wasps lay eggs that produce cells called teratocytes. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the transcriptome of teratocytes from the solitary endoparasitoid Cotesia vestalis (Braconidae), which parasitizes larval stage Plutella xylostella (Plutellidae). Results identified many teratocyte transcripts with potential functions in affecting host immune defenses, growth or me...
متن کاملParasitoids select plants more heavily infested with their caterpillar hosts: a new approach to aid interpretation of plant headspace volatiles.
Plants produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to herbivore attack, and these VOCs can be used by parasitoids of the herbivore as host location cues. We investigated the behavioural responses of the parasitoid Cotesia vestalis to VOCs from a plant-herbivore complex consisting of cabbage plants (Brassica oleracea) and the parasitoids host caterpillar, Plutella xylostella. A Y-tube ...
متن کامل