Evolution of microgastroid parasitic wasps and their symbiotic viruses - a major group of biological control agents

小腹蜂是寄生在鳞翅目昆虫幼虫体内的一个重要种类，是农业害虫生物防治的主要媒介。 它们还与一组共生病毒具有独特的联系，当这些病毒被引入宿主时，会阻止其免疫反应。 本项目将利用形态学、序列数据和线粒体基因组组织信息，阐明黄蜂和病毒之间的进化关系，作为研究这些伙伴生物之间同源性水平的基础，并为黄蜂与宿主相互作用的分子水平研究提供框架。

Microgastroid wasps represent a huge assemblage of species that are parasitic in lepidopteran (moth) larvae and are a major group of biological control agents of agricultural pests. They also possess a unique association with a group of symbiotic viruses that when introduced into a host, block its immune response. This project will elucidate the evolutionary relationships among wasps and viruses employing morphology, sequence data and information on mitochondrial genome organisation as a basis for investigating the level of cophylogeny between these partner organisms, and to provide a framework for studies on wasp-host interactions at a molecular level.