title: Novel simian homologues of Epstein-Barr virus.
abstract: Thirty different lymphocryptoviruses (LCV), 26 of them novel, were detected in primates by a panherpesvirus PCR assay. Nineteen LCV from chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and other Old World primates were closely related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the type species of the genus lymphocryptovirus. Seven LCV originating from New World primates were related to callitrichine herpesvirus 3 (CalHV-3), the first recognized New World LCV. Importantly, a second LCV from gorillas and three LCV from orangutans and gibbons were only distantly related to EBV and CalHV-3. They were tentatively assigned to a novel genogroup of Old World primate LCV. The work described in the paper may also help identify an as yet unknown human LCV.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch-Institut, D-13353, Germany. ehlersb@rki.de
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ehlers
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ochs
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leendertz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goltz
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boesch
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mätz-Rensing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018143:Lymphocryptovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011323:Primates / Q000821:virology*