title: Worldwide prevalence of lentivirus infection in wild feline species: epidemiologic and phylogenetic aspects.
abstract: The natural occurrence of lentiviruses closely related to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in nondomestic felid species is shown here to be worldwide. Cross-reactive antibodies to FIV were common in several free-ranging populations of large cats, including East African lions and cheetahs of the Serengeti ecosystem and in puma (also called cougar or mountain lion) populations throughout North America. Infectious puma lentivirus (PLV) was isolated from several Florida panthers, a severely endangered relict puma subspecies inhabiting the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades ecosystems in southern Florida. Phylogenetic analysis of PLV genomic sequences from disparate geographic isolates revealed appreciable divergence from domestic cat FIV sequences as well as between PLV sequences found in different North American locales. The level of sequence divergence between PLV and FIV was greater than the level of divergence between human and certain simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting that the transmission of FIV between feline species is infrequent and parallels in time the emergence of HIV from simian ancestors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Olmsted
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langley
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Roelke
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Goeken
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Adger-Johnson
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Packer
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Laurenson
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Caro
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002335:Carnivora / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015684:Gene Products, pol / Q000235:genetics; D005814:Genes, Viral; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016086:Lentivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016180:Lentivirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D015684:Gene Products, pol; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase