Discovery of Novel Herpes Simplexviruses in Wild Gorillas, Bonobos, and Chimpanzees Supports Zoonotic Origin of HSV-2
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Viruses closely related to human pathogens can reveal the origins of human infectious diseases. Human herpes simplexvirus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are hypothesized to have arisen via host-virus codivergence and cross-species transmission. We report the discovery of novel herpes simplexviruses during a large-scale screening of fecal samples from wild gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, contrary to expectation, simplexviruses from these African apes are all more closely related to HSV-2 than to HSV-1. Molecular clock-based hypothesis testing suggests the divergence between HSV-1 and the African great ape simplexviruses likely represents a codivergence event between humans and gorillas. The simplexviruses infecting African great apes subsequently experienced multiple cross-species transmission events over the past 3 My, the most recent of which occurred between humans and bonobos around 1 Ma. These findings revise our understanding of the origins of human herpes simplexviruses and suggest that HSV-2 is one of the earliest zoonotic pathogens.
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution
Authors: Joel O. Wertheim, Reilly Hostager, Diane Ryu, Kevin Merkel, Samuel Angedakin, Mimi Arandjelovic, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Fred Babweteera, Mattia Bessone, Kathryn J. Brun-Jeffery, Paula Dieguez, Winnie Eckardt, Barbara Fruth, Ilka Herbinger, Sorrel Jones, Hjalmar Kuehl, Kevin E. Langergraber, Kevin Lee, Nadege F. Madinda, Sonja Metzger, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Martha M. Robbins, Volker Sommer, Tara Stoinski, Erin G. Wessling, Roman M. Wittig, Yisa Ginath Yuh, Fabian H. Leendertz, Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer
Institutions: University of California San Diego, Robert Koch Institute, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Stirling, Emory University, The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, WWF Germany, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Arizona State University, Gashaka Primate Project, University College London, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,255
OpenAlex ID: W3136417093