1 Proposal to Sequence the Nasonia Genome

Overview: The Parasitic Hymenoptera is a diverse and extremely important insect group. Known also as parasitoid wasps, these insects are natural enemies of a broad range of arthropods of medical, veterinary and agricultural significance. Adult parasitoids are free-living insects that lay their eggs in or on various life stages of other arthropods (e.g. insects, ticks, mites), subsequently killing the host. Most arthropods are attacked by multiple parasitoid species that specialize in different host life stages (e.g. egg, larva, pupa). As a result, parasitoids are major regulators of arthropod populations in nature. More insects beneficial to humans occur in the Parasitic Hymenoptera than in any other insect group. Parasitoids attack significant vectors of human disease, such as house flies, roaches and ticks (Quicke 1997). They are also extremely important regulators of agricultural pests, and as such have a major impact on human nutrition. The realized and potential impact of these insects on human health, by reducing destruction of food, is truly staggering. For example, in the US alone biological control programs using parasitoid wasps save approximately $20 billion dollars annually in crop loss to newly invasive species (see Letter, K. Hackett); and this does not include the vast savings from biological control of native pests. The knowledge gained from full genome sequencing of a parasitoid will likely lead to methods for further enhancing their utility for control of disease vectors and agricultural pests. Parasitoids have incredibly diverse life histories and modes of development (Godfray 1994, Quicke 1997). For example, early development ranges from a syncytial blastoderm to a holoblastic cleavage more similar to what is found in mammals (Grbic et al 1998). Parasitoids have evolved a variety of mechanisms for manipulating host immunity, physiology and behavior through their venoms (Quicke 1997, Rivers et al 1999). Among their effects, venoms can induce temporary paralysis, selective apoptosis, alterations in lipid uptake, and host immune suppression. Given the incredible diversity of parasitoids (over 170,000 species) and host associations, this represents an impressive untapped pharmacopoeia, access to which will be improved by full sequencing of a parasitoid genome. Parasitic Hymenoptera have a form of sex determination, called haplodiploidy, which makes them particularly suited for genetic studies. Females are diploid and develop from fertilized eggs, whereas males are haploid and develop parthenogenetically from unfertilized eggs. This form of sex determination allows geneticists to exploit many of the advantages of haploid genetics in an otherwise complex eukaryotic …