The tax gene sequences form two divergent monophyletic lineages corresponding to types I and II of simian and human T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic viruses.
Evolutionary associations of human and simian T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic viruses I and II (HTLV-I/II and STLV-I/II) are inferred from phylogenetic analysis of tax gene sequences. Samples studied consisted of a geographically diverse assemblage of viral strains obtained from 10 human subjects and 20 individuals representing 12 species of nonhuman primates. Sequence analyses identified distinct substitutions, which distinguished between viral types I and II, irrespective of host species. Phylogenetic reconstruction of nucleotide sequences strongly supported two major evolutionary groups corresponding to viral types I and II. With the type I lineage, clusters were composed of strains from multiple host species. A genetically diverse, monophyletic lineage consisting of eight new viral strains from several species of Asian macaques was identified. The second lineage consisted of a monophyletic assemblage of HTLV-II/STLV-II strains from Africa and the New World, including an isolate from a pygmy chimp (Pan paniscus) as an early divergence within the lineage. High levels of genetic variation among strains from Asian STLV-I macaque suggest the virus arose in Asia. Evidence of the origin of the type II virus is less clear, but diversity among HTLV-II variants from a single isolated population of Mbati villagers is suggestive but not proof of an African origin.
Giri
A
A
Basic Research Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Slattery
J P
JP
Heneine
W
W
Gessain
A
A
Rivadeneira
E
E
Desrosiers
R C
RC
Rosen
L
L
Anthony
R
R
Pamungkas
J
J
Iskandriati
D
D
Richards
A L
AL
Herve
V
V
McClure
H
H
O'Brien
S J
SJ
Franchini
G
G
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000235:genetics*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011323:Primates; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D015303:Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D016356:Gene Products, tax