Parasitoids are parasitic insects that kill their insect hosts in immature pre-reproductive stages. Parasitoids are employed in biological control programs worldwide to kill insect pests and are environmentally safe and benign alternatives to chemical pesticides. As resistance to chemical pesticides continues to escalate in many pest populations, attention is now refocusing on biologically-based strategies to control pest species in agriculture and forestry as well as insect vector populations that transmit human and animal diseases. Parasitoids are an economically critical element in this equation and ‘integrated pest management.’
Viruses have evolved intimate associations with parasitoids, and this book features sections on both symbiotic viruses that are integrated into the wasp’s chromosomal DNA (polydnaviruses) that play critical roles in suppressing host immunity during parasitism. A separate section with additional chapters on viral pathogens that infect parasitoids to cause disease and act as detrimental agents that limit effectiveness of wasp species employed in biological control of pests is also featured. A third component is a section on parasitoid venoms, which are of interest to the pharmaceutical and medical communities as well as insect-oriented biologists.
1. Cover image 2. Table of Contents 3. Front-matter 4. Copyright 5. Foreword. The Discovery of Polydnaviruses and the Influence of Dr. George Salt 6. Preface 7. Contributors 8. Chapter 1. The Origins and Early History of Polydnavirus Research 9. Abbreviations 10. Chapter 2. Evolutionary Progenitors of Bracoviruses 11. Abbreviations 12. Chapter 3. The Organization of Genes Encoding Ichnovirus Structural Proteins 13. Abbreviations 14. Chapter 4. Genomics and Replication of Polydnaviruses 15. Abbreviations 16. Chapter 5. Evolution and Origin of Polydnavirus Virulence Genes 17. Abbreviations 18. Chapter 6. Genomics of Banchine Ichnoviruses 19. Abbreviations 20. Chapter 7. Molecular Systematics of Wasp and Polydnavirus Genomes and their Coevolution 21. Abbreviations 22. Chapter 8. Integration of Polydnavirus DNA into Host Cellular Genomic DNA 23. Abbreviations 24. Chapter 9. Unusual Viral Genomes 25. Chapter 10. Maintenance of Specialized Parasitoid Populations by Polydnaviruses 26. Abbreviations 27. Chapter 11. Polydnavirus Gene Expression Profiling 28. Abbreviations 29. Chapter 12. Polydnavirus Gene Products that Interact with the Host Immune System 30. Abbreviations 31. Chapter 13. Polydnaviruses as Endocrine Regulators 32. Abbreviations 33. Chapter 14. The Orchestrated Manipulation of the Host by Chelonus Inanitus and its Polydnavirus 34. Abbreviations 35. Chapter 15. Diversity of Virus-Like Particles in Parasitoids’ Venom 36. Abbreviations 37. Chapter 16. RNA Viruses in Parasitoid Wasps 38. Abbreviations 39. Chapter 17. An Inherited Virus Manipulating the Behavior of its Parasitoid Host 40. Chapter 18. Venoms from Endoparasitoids 41. Abbreviations 42. Chapter 19. Proteomics of the Venom of the Parasitoid Nasonia vitripennis 43. Abbreviations 44. Chapter 20. Aphid Parasitoid Venom and its Role in Host Regulation 45. Abbreviations 46. Chapter 21. When Parasitoids Lack Polydnaviruses, Can Venoms Subdue the Hosts? The Case Study of Asobara Species 47. Abbreviations 48. Chapter 22. Applications of Parasitoid Virus and Venom Research in Agriculture 49. Abbreviations 50. Epilogue. The Legacy of George Salt, Pioneer in Parasitoid Virology, and Prospects for the Future of Parasitoid Polydnavirus and Venom Research 51. Index
Parasitoids are parasitic insects that kill their insect hosts in immature pre-reproductive stages. Parasitoids are employed in biological control programs worldwide to kill insect pests and are environmentally safe and benign alternatives to chemical pesticides. As resistance to chemical pesticides continues to escalate in many pest populations, attention is now refocusing on biologically-based strategies to control pest species in agriculture and forestry as well as insect vector populations that transmit human and animal diseases. Parasitoids are an economically critical element in this equation and ‘integrated pest management.’
Viruses have evolved intimate associations with parasitoids, and this book features sections on both symbiotic viruses that are integrated into the wasp’s chromosomal DNA (polydnaviruses) that play critical roles in suppressing host immunity during parasitism. A separate section with additional chapters on viral pathogens that infect parasitoids to cause disease and act as detrimental agents that limit effectiveness of wasp species employed in biological control of pests is also featured. A third component is a section on parasitoid venoms, which are of interest to the pharmaceutical and medical communities as well as insect-oriented biologists.
1. Cover image 2. Table of Contents 3. Front-matter 4. Copyright 5. Foreword. The Discovery of Polydnaviruses and the Influence of Dr. George Salt 6. Preface 7. Contributors 8. Chapter 1. The Origins and Early History of Polydnavirus Research 9. Abbreviations 10. Chapter 2. Evolutionary Progenitors of Bracoviruses 11. Abbreviations 12. Chapter 3. The Organization of Genes Encoding Ichnovirus Structural Proteins 13. Abbreviations 14. Chapter 4. Genomics and Replication of Polydnaviruses 15. Abbreviations 16. Chapter 5. Evolution and Origin of Polydnavirus Virulence Genes 17. Abbreviations 18. Chapter 6. Genomics of Banchine Ichnoviruses 19. Abbreviations 20. Chapter 7. Molecular Systematics of Wasp and Polydnavirus Genomes and their Coevolution 21. Abbreviations 22. Chapter 8. Integration of Polydnavirus DNA into Host Cellular Genomic DNA 23. Abbreviations 24. Chapter 9. Unusual Viral Genomes 25. Chapter 10. Maintenance of Specialized Parasitoid Populations by Polydnaviruses 26. Abbreviations 27. Chapter 11. Polydnavirus Gene Expression Profiling 28. Abbreviations 29. Chapter 12. Polydnavirus Gene Products that Interact with the Host Immune System 30. Abbreviations 31. Chapter 13. Polydnaviruses as Endocrine Regulators 32. Abbreviations 33. Chapter 14. The Orchestrated Manipulation of the Host by Chelonus Inanitus and its Polydnavirus 34. Abbreviations 35. Chapter 15. Diversity of Virus-Like Particles in Parasitoids’ Venom 36. Abbreviations 37. Chapter 16. RNA Viruses in Parasitoid Wasps 38. Abbreviations 39. Chapter 17. An Inherited Virus Manipulating the Behavior of its Parasitoid Host 40. Chapter 18. Venoms from Endoparasitoids 41. Abbreviations 42. Chapter 19. Proteomics of the Venom of the Parasitoid Nasonia vitripennis 43. Abbreviations 44. Chapter 20. Aphid Parasitoid Venom and its Role in Host Regulation 45. Abbreviations 46. Chapter 21. When Parasitoids Lack Polydnaviruses, Can Venoms Subdue the Hosts? The Case Study of Asobara Species 47. Abbreviations 48. Chapter 22. Applications of Parasitoid Virus and Venom Research in Agriculture 49. Abbreviations 50. Epilogue. The Legacy of George Salt, Pioneer in Parasitoid Virology, and Prospects for the Future of Parasitoid Polydnavirus and Venom Research 51. Index
