Strain maintenance of Nasonia vitripennis (parasitoid wasp).
Nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps with several features that make it an excellent system for a variety of genetic studies. These include a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. Furthermore, its parasitoid lifestyle allows investigations of questions relating to parasitoid/host dynamics, host preference, and specialist versus generalist biology. It also can serve as a behavior model for studies of courtship, male aggression and territoriality, female dispersal, and sex ratio control. This protocol describes standard rearing of Nasonia vitripennis strains on Sarcophaga bullata hosts.
Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA. werr@mail.rochester.edu
John H
JH
Werren
David W
DW
Loehlin
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001695:Biology / Q000379:methods; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D013045:Species Specificity; D014863:Wasps / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*