Genome Sequencing of the Behavior Manipulating Virus LbFV Reveals a Possible New Virus Family.
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 sequencing revealed that its genome contains an homologous repeat sequence (hrs) found in eight regions in the genome. The presence of this hrs may explain the genomic plasticity that we observed for this genome. The genome of LbFV encodes 108 ORFs, most of them having no homologs in public databases. The virus is however related to Hytrosaviridae, although distantly. LbFV may thus represent a member of a new virus family. Several genes of LbFV were captured from eukaryotes, including two anti-apoptotic genes. More surprisingly, we found that LbFV captured from an ancestral wasp a protein with a Jumonji domain. This gene was afterwards duplicated in the virus genome. We hypothesized that this gene may be involved in manipulating the expression of wasp genes, and possibly in manipulating its behavior.
Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, France.
David
D
Lepetit
Université de Lyon, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon UMR 5242, France.
Benjamin
B
Gillet
Université de Lyon, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon UMR 5242, France.
Sandrine
S
Hughes
Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ken
K
Kraaijeveld
Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, France.
Julien
J
Varaldi
D000818:Animals; D004267:DNA Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000821:virology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005814:Genes, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014863:Wasps / Q000821:virology*
D014764:Viral Proteins