Virus in a Parasitoid Wasp: Suppression of the Cellular Immune Response in the Parasitoid's Host

A virus that replicates in the ovary of a parasitoid wasp is injected into the parasitoid's host during oviposition. Successful development of th parasitoid egg within the host depends on the presence of th virus, which acts to suppress the host's immune response (encapsulation) toward the egg. This is an example of obligatory mutualism between a virus and a eukaryotic organism.