Bracovirus

''Bracovirus'' is a genus of viruses, in the family ''Polydnaviridae''. Bracoviruses are an ancient symbiotic virus contained in parasitic braconid wasps that evolved off of the ''nudivirus'' about 190 million years ago and has been evolving at least 100 million years. It is one of two genera belonging to the ''Polydnaviridae'' family, ''Ichnovirus'' being the other genus. There are 32 species in this genus.

Symbiosis

Parasitoid wasps in the subfamilies Microgastrinae, Miracinae, Cheloninae, Cardiochilinae, Khoikhoiinae, and Mendesellinae are the natural hosts for ''Bracoviruses'', though the virus does not cause disease in these wasps. Instead, the wasps are themselves parasites of lepidoptera. The wasp injects one or more eggs into its lepidoptera host along with a quantity of virus. The virus does not replicate inside the wasp's host, but expression of viral genes prevents its immune system from killing the wasp's egg and causes other physiological alterations that ultimately cause the parasitized host to die. Studies conducted on ''Cotesia congregata'' have shown that male wasps do contain proviral sequences of DNA, but the females are the ones responsible for the amplification of the viral DNA.

Taxonomy

The genus contains the following 32 species:

*'' Apanteles crassicornis bracovirus''
*'' Apanteles fumiferanae bracovirus''
*'' Ascogaster argentifrons bracovirus''
*'' Ascogaster quadridentata bracovirus''
*'' Cardiochiles nigriceps bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus altitudinis bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus blackburni bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus inanitus bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus insularis bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus near curvimaculatus bracovirus''
*'' Chelonus texanus bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia congregata bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia flavipes bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia glomerata bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia hyphantriae bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia kariyai bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia marginiventris bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia melanoscela bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia rubecula bracovirus''
*'' Cotesia schaeferi bracovirus''
*'' Diolcogaster facetosa bracovirus''
*'' Glyptapanteles flavicoxis bracovirus''
*'' Glyptapanteles indiensis bracovirus''
*'' Glyptapanteles liparidis bracovirus''
*'' Hypomicrogaster canadensis bracovirus''
*'' Hypomicrogaster ectdytolophae bracovirus''
*'' Microplitis croceipes bracovirus''
*'' Microplitis demolitor bracovirus''
*'' Phanerotoma flavitestacea bracovirus''
*'' Pholetesor ornigis bracovirus''
*'' Protapanteles paleacritae bracovirus''
*'' Tranosema rostrale bracovirus''

Structure

Viruses in ''Bracovirus'' are enveloped, with prolate ellipsoid and cylindrical geometries. Genomes are circular and segmented, around 2.0-31kb in length. The genome of the virus is enveloped with 35 double stranded DNA (dsDNA) all of which are circular.

Life cycle

Viral replication is nuclear. DNA-templated transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by nuclear pore export. Transmission routes are parental.

The replication of the ''Bracovirus'' occurs within the ovaries of a parasitic wasps in calyx cells and is maintained by vertical transmission and to go into further detail the packaged genome of dsDNA is replicated inside of the wasp ovaries by development of the sequences of the virus from proviral segments in the tandem arrays in the wasp genome. The development of the sequences of ''bracovirus'' shows head-to-head and tail-to-tail sequences, which is unexpected, given that it has evolved from the ''nudivirus'' The research conducted on '' Cortesia congregata'' shows that the viral genome contains one to three proviral segments.

The virus is transmitted into a lepidopteran host (a caterpillar) and infects and manipulates the physiology of the caterpillar so that it can be used as a living incubator for wasp larvae. When this happens the virus disrupts the caterpillar's immune system causing paralysis and inhibiting the pupating of the host. The arresting of the host increases the chance of success of the wasp larva developing successfully.

References

External links

Viralzone: Bracovirus

ICTV

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18210379

Polydnaviridae
Virus genera