Papio cynocephalus Endogenous Retrovirus among Old World Monkeys: Evidence for Coevolution and Ancient Cross-Species Transmissions

Abstract

To study the evolutionary history of Papio cynocephalus endogenous retrovirus (PcEV), we analyzed the distribution and genetic characteristics of PcEV among 17 different species of primates. The viral pol-env and long terminal repeat and untranslated region (LTR-UTR) sequences could be recovered from all Old World species of the papionin tribe, which includes baboons, macaques, geladas, and mangabeys, but not from the New World monkeys and hominoids we tested. The Old World genera Cercopithecus and Miopithecus hosted either a PcEV variant with an incomplete genome or a virus with substantial mismatches in the LTR-UTR. A complete PcEV was found in the genome of Colobus guereza-but not in Colobus badius-with a copy number of 44 to 61 per diploid genome, comparable to that seen in papionins, and with a sequence most closely related to a virus of the papionin tribe. Analysis of evolutionary distances among PcEV sequences for synonymous and nonsynonymous sites indicated that purifying selection was operational during PcEV evolution. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that possibly two subtypes of PcEV entered the germ line of a common ancestor of the papionins and subsequently coevolved with their hosts. One strain of PcEV was apparently transmitted from a papionin ancestor to an ancestor of the central African lowland C. guereza.

All Three Variable Regions of the TRIM5α B30.2 Domain Can Contribute to the Specificity of Retrovirus Restriction

“…The calculation of synonymous amino acid change/nonsynonymous amino acid change ratio showed that primate TRIM5␣ has evolved under positive pressure (43,48). Since it has been reported that some types of endogenous retroviruses are detected in a lineage-specific manner (14,27,28,32,60,65), it has been suggested that primate TRIM5␣ may have evolved to control specific endogenous retroviruses. However, it seems more likely that exogenous viruses would provide a greater selective pressure than endogenous retroviruses would.…”

The B30.2(SPRY) Domain of the Retroviral Restriction Factor TRIM5α Exhibits Lineage-Specific Length and Sequence Variation in Primates

“…Episodic waves of lethal retrovirus infections may have contributed to this evolutionary pattern. The timing of some ancient retroviral epidemics has been deduced from the presence of endogenous retroviruses in the germ lines of mammalian species (2,12,19,21,25,26,28,35,44,45,58,59,61). Notably, several endogenous retroviruses appeared in primate germ lines during the same time periods in which two of the expansions of v1 length in the catarrhine TRIM5␣ proteins seem to have occurred.…”

“…2B). About 9 to 13 million years ago, the simian endogenous retrovirus (SERV) and Papio cynocephalus endogenous retrovirus were introduced into the genomes of cercopithecine monkeys (26,58,59). The TRIM5␣ B30.2 v1 expansion to 28 residues occurred during this same period (Fig.…”

“…Studies of endogenous retroviral sequences have indicated that vertebrates, including humans, have been exposed to retroviruses for many millions of years (2,12,19,21,25,26,28,35,44,45,56,58,59,61). This long history of host-retrovirus coevolution might favor the selection of particular TRIM5␣ proteins that effectively suppress lethal retrovirus infections.…”

Retrovirus endógenos humanos: Significado biológico e implicaciones evolutivas

“…Sin embargo, la presencia de ERVs muy similares en especies muy alejadas permite identificar transmisiones horizontales entre grupos animales, que, aunque ocasionales, pueden ser importantes (un muy alto nivel de homología entre secuencias de especies muy alejadas evolutivamente se interpreta como transmisión horizontal). Varios ejemplos de transmisiones de RVs de este tipo entre especies se han detectado entre mamíferos placentarios, donde parecen ser relativamente frecuentes, incluyendo transmisiones entre el hombre y otros primates (Benveniste y Todaro, 1974;Li et al, 2001;Koralnik et al, 1994;Mang et al, 2000). Pero también se han postulado infecciones horizontales recientes entre especies pertenecientes a distintas clases de vertebrados (Martin et al, 1999), como el SNV aviar (spleen necrosis virus), que parece haberse transferido desde un equidna (Monotrema) para después sufrir una radiación adaptativa en algunas familias de aves; el otro caso es entre marsupiales y placentarios, concretamente un retrovirus endógeno de koala que se ha transferido al gibón como un RV exógeno altamente oncogénico e infectivo.…”