Insect-virus genomic cohabitation: who regulates whom? – ENDOVIRE

The integration of viral sequences is widespread in eukaryotic DNA and often evoked as a major source of diversification and acquisition of new functions. This is remarkably illustrated in certain parasitoid wasps. Indeed, the chromosomes of these species contain dozens of viral loci derived from the integration of an ancestral viral genome. Following their activation in a specialized region of the ovaries (the calyx) during the wasp's pupation, these viral loci enable the wasp to produce virus-like particles necessary for its parasitic success. The objective of the ENDOVIRE project is to identify proteins and epigenetic mechanisms involved in the transition of the endogenous virus from a silent to an active state exclusively in calyx cells, and to explore how viral and host factors interact in the process. Through a multidisciplinary consortium combining expertise in omics and functional approaches, in the analysis of epigenetic mechanisms, and in the integration of heterogeneous datasets, ENDOVIRE aims to explore for the first time the mechanisms underlying PDV replication, using the endogenous virus of the ichneumonid wasp Hyposoter didymator as a model. In ENDOVIRE we will also build up a data structure that will provide the capacity to integrate, to query and reuse all the datasets obtained in the frame of the project. Ultimately, the ENDOVIRE project will contribute to a better understanding of how a virus integration event led to cohabitation and functional relationship between two genomes of distinct origin.