Venom vesicles from the parasitoid Ganaspis hookeri facilitate venom protein entry into host immune cells.

Venom vesicles from Ganaspis hookeri carry SERCA proteins into host immune cells, enabling immune suppression in Drosophila melanogaster larvae.

• Why it matters: Understanding how venom proteins are transported into host cells is crucial for revealing mechanisms of immune manipulation by parasitoids, which can inform pest control strategies and biological insights.
• What they did: The study used electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis to identify and characterize venom extracellular vesicles (vEVs) in G. hookeri venom, including their size, charge, protein content, and density, and demonstrated that some vEVs contain SERCA and can enter host immune cells.
• The result: Disruption of vEV integrity prevents SERCA from entering host cells, suggesting that venom vesicles are essential for delivering immune-suppressive proteins, which may facilitate successful parasitism.