These bacteria cause a sex change in wasps – scientists finally know how

Parasitoid wasp emerging from parasitised whitefly scale.

Bacteria that live in parasitic wasps eliminate all male wasps from the population. Now, scientists have discovered one way to do it. Long ago, bacteria borrowed sex-determining genes from other insects, and now use them to secrete proteins that change male eggs, a study published in March in the journal. Genome Biology found. “When we … Read more