
Polydnavirus DNA is integrated in the DNA of its parasitoid wasp host.
Author(s) -
Jo-Ann G. W. Fleming,
Max D. Summers
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.88.21.9770
Subject(s) - extrachromosomal dna , biology , provirus , dna , parasitoid wasp , genetics , genomic dna , dna sequencing , southern blot , inverted repeat , gene , genome , virology , microbiology and biotechnology , host (biology) , plasmid , parasitoid
The polydnavirus Campoletis sonorensis virus (CsV) is present in the oviducts of all adult C. sonorensis female wasps and appears to be required for these wasps to parasitize hosts successfully. Physical mapping, Southern blot analysis, and nucleotide sequence analysis demonstrate that the viral DNA B-specific sequences in cloned wasp DNA are colinear with viral genomic segment DNA B from nucleocapsids and are covalently linked to nonviral wasp sequences. Integrated DNA B terminates in 59-nucleotide imperfect direct repeats, but a single repeat exists in the extrachromosomal superhelical viral DNA B. Sequences near each junction form imperfect inverted repeats with sequences near the ends of an internal viral 540-base-pair repeat element gene. CsV appears to be the first documented integrated, nonretroviral DNA virus of insects and probably is vertically transmitted as a provirus.