Fig. 5: The adaptive roles of Lar and Warm in driving the shift in host range.

a Parasitism rates and wasp emergence rates in eight Drosophila species parasitized by L. heterotoma (P_Lh), dsGFP-treated L. heterotoma (P_dsGFP), dsLar-treated L. heterotoma (P_dsLar), and L. boulardi (P_Lb). The fate of attaching wasp eggs, the presence of host lymph gland 24-h post-infection, and the encapsulation of wasp eggs were also shown on the right. The green checkmark represents present or yes, and the red X represents absent or no. b Lymph glands of nonparasitized Drosophila species (non-P) and of the host larvae that were parasitized by L. heterotoma (P_Lh) and dsLar-treated L. heterotoma (P_dsLar) (n = 3 replicates, at least 50 lymph glands were examined for each individual). The nuclei were labeled with DAPI (blue). Dashed lines mark the outline of the lymph glands. Scale bars: 20 µm. c The proposed model of how Leptopilina wasps have evolved diverse parasitic strategies to combat with their Drosophila hosts, leading to a specialist parasitoid (Lb) and a generalist parasitoid (Lh). Dmel D. melanogaster, Dsim D. simulans, Dyak D. yakuba, Dsan D. santomea, Dere D. erecta, Dsuz D. suzukii, Dpse D. pseudoobscura, Dvir D. virilis.