Abstract Over the course of evolution, hymenopteran parasitoids have developed a close relationship with heritable viruses, sometimes even integrating viral genes into their chromosomes. For example, in Drosophila parasitoids belonging to the Leptopilina genus, 13 viral genes from the Filamentoviridae family have been integrated and domesticated to deliver immunosuppressive factors to host immune cells, thereby protecting parasitoid offspring from host immune responses.
