Benjamin J. Parker

Phenotypic divergence is driven by mobile genetic elements in a heritable insect symbiont

The paper shows that mobile genetic elements drive phenotypic divergence in the insect symbiont Regiella insecticola by mediating gene gains and losses that affect host defense.

Evolution of endogenized densoviral elements across aphid species

The paper studies the evolution of densoviral endogenous elements in aphids, finding lineage-specific variation and evidence for both vertical and horizontal transmission.

Heritable viral symbionts in the family Iflaviridae are widespread among aphids

The paper identifies widespread heritable iflaviruses in aphids, showing they are transmitted vertically and co-localize with bacterial symbionts in bacteriocytes.

Draft genome sequence of the glasshouse-potato aphid Aulacorthum solani

The paper presents a new draft genome of Aulacorthum solani, correcting contamination in the existing genome and providing functional annotations for most predicted genes.

Untangling an insect virome from its endogenous viral elements

The paper identifies an endogenous viral element in the potato aphid genome, showing that RNAseq can misidentify viruses due to homology with transcribed elements.