Host haemocyte inactivation by an insect parasitoid: transient expression of a polydnavirus gene

Abstract

Polydnaviruses produced by the hymenopteran endoparasitoid Cotesia rubecula are deposited together with the egg into the lepidopteran host Pieris rapae and are apparently involved in the suppression of the host's defence system. Around 6 h post-parasitization host haemocytes change their surface properties, actin cytoskeleton structure and adhesion properties. Here we show that a single polydnavirus gene is expressed inside the caterpillar haemocytes in a transient fashion between 4 to 8 h post-parasitization.