Seroprevalence and genomic divergence of circulating strains of feline immunodeficiency virus among Felidae and Hyaenidae species.
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects numerous wild and domestic feline species and is closely related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Species-specific strains of FIV have been described for domestic cat (Felis catus), puma (Puma concolor), lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), and Pallas' cat (Otocolobus manul). Here, we employ a three-antigen Western blot screening (domestic cat, puma, and lion FIV antigens) and PCR analysis to survey worldwide prevalence, distribution, and genomic differentiation of FIV based on 3,055 specimens from 35 Felidae and 3 Hyaenidae species. Although FIV infects a wide variety of host species, it is confirmed to be endemic in free-ranging populations of nine Felidae and one Hyaenidae species. These include the large African carnivores (lion, leopard, cheetah, and spotted hyena), where FIV is widely distributed in multiple populations; most of the South American felids (puma, jaguar, ocelot, margay, Geoffroy's cat, and tigrina), which maintain a lower FIV-positive level throughout their range; and two Asian species, the Pallas' cat, which has a species-specific strain of FIV, and the leopard cat, which has a domestic cat FIV strain in one population. Phylogenetic analysis of FIV proviral sequence demonstrates that most species for which FIV is endemic harbor monophyletic, genetically distinct species-specific FIV strains, suggesting that FIV transfer between cat species has occurred in the past but is quite infrequent today.
Troyer
Jennifer L
JL
Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Maryland 21702-1201, USA.
Pecon-Slattery
Jill
J
Roelke
Melody E
ME
Johnson
Warren
W
VandeWoude
Sue
S
Vazquez-Salat
Nuria
N
Brown
Meredith
M
Frank
Laurence
L
Woodroffe
Rosie
R
Winterbach
Christiaan
C
Winterbach
Hanlie
H
Hemson
Graham
G
Bush
Mitch
M
Alexander
Kathleen A
KA
Revilla
Eloy
E
O'Brien
Stephen J
SJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002335:Carnivora / Q000821:virology*; D002415:Cats / Q000821:virology*; D017931:DNA Primers; D045989:Felidae / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D045968:Hyaenidae / Q000821:virology*; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D017931:DNA Primers