RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 High Genetic Diversity and Adaptive Potential of Two Simian Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses in a Wild Primate Population
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 001040
DO 10.1101/001040
A1 Adam L. Bailey
A1 Michael Lauck
A1 Andrea Weiler
A1 Samuel D. Sibley
A1 Jorge M. Dinis
A1 Zachary Bergman
A1 Chase W. Nelson
A1 Michael Correll
A1 Michael Gleicher
A1 David Hyeroba
A1 Alex Tumukunde
A1 Geoffrey Weny
A1 Colin Chapman
A1 Jens H. Kuhn
A1 Austin L. Hughes
A1 Thomas C. Friedrich
A1 Tony L. Goldberg
A1 David H. O’Connor
YR 2013
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2013/12/03/001040.abstract
AB Key biological properties such as high genetic diversity and high evolutionary rate enhance the potential of certain RNA viruses to adapt and emerge. Identifying viruses with these properties in their natural hosts could dramatically improve disease forecasting and surveillance. Recently, we discovered two novel members of the viral family Arteriviridae: simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV)-krc1 and SHFV-krc2, infecting a single wild red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Nearly nothing is known about the biological properties of SHFVs in nature, although the SHFV type strain, SHFV-LVR, has caused devastating outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever in captive macaques. Here we detected SHFV-krc1 and SHFV-krc2 in 40% and 47% of 60 wild red colobus tested, respectively. We found viral loads in excess of 106 − 107 RNA copies per milliliter of blood plasma for each of these viruses. SHFV-krc1 and SHFV-krc2 also showed high genetic diversity at both the inter- and intra-host levels. Analyses of synonymous and non-synonymous nucleotide diversity across viral genomes revealed patterns suggestive of positive selection in SHFV open reading frames (ORF) 5 (SHFV-krc2 only) and 7 (SHFV-krc1 and SHFV-krc2). Thus, these viruses share several important properties with some of the most rapidly evolving, emergent RNA viruses.