Bio Briefs

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Matt Nelson

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UA researchers find that virus-infected bacteria save aphids

Tags: bioagriculture, infectious disease, university of arizona

[Source: ScienceDaily] - The term "beneficial virus" sounds like an oxymoron.  But for pea aphids under attack by parasitic wasps, carrying infected bacteria is the difference between life and a slow death, according to new research.  The wasps lay eggs inside the aphids, and the wasp larvae eat the living aphids from the inside out.  For more information: Aphids Saved From Gruesome Death By Virus-infected Bacteria