Although viruses are most often studied as pathogens, many are beneficial to their hosts,
providing essential functions in some cases and conditionally beneficial functions in others …

Parasitoid wasps are valuable biological control agents that suppress their host populations.
Factors introduced by the female wasp at parasitization play significant roles in facilitating …

The Polydnaviridae (PDV), including the Bracovirus (BV) and Ichnovirus genera, originated
from the integration of unrelated viruses in the genomes of two parasitoid wasp lineages, in …

Viruses must establish an intimate relationship with their hosts and vectors in order to infect,
replicate, and disseminate; hence, viruses can be considered as symbionts with their hosts …

Highlights•Parasitic wasp polydnaviruses are gene transfer agents encoding virulence
factors.•V. canescens Virus-Like-Particles are viral liposomes delivering virulence proteins.• …

Highlights•Viruses and their components are repeatedly exapted for diverse host
functions.•Virus components are often exapted to function in antiviral defense.•Defective …

Abstract The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) recognized the
Polydnaviridae in 1991 as a virus family associated with insects called parasitoid wasps …

Virus-host associations are usually viewed as parasitic, but several studies in recent years
have reported examples of viruses that benefit host organisms. The Polydnaviridae are of …

Highlights•Viruses in the family Polydnaviridae are associated with parasitoid wasps.•
Polydnaviruses exhibit traits associated with viruses and endogenous viral elements.• …

The family Polydnaviridae is of interest because it provides the best example of viruses that
have evolved a mutualistic association with their animal hosts. Polydnaviruses in the genus …