title: Genome sequence of a chimpanzee herpesvirus and its relation to other primate alphaherpesviruses.
abstract: This study reports the complete genome sequence of chimpanzee herpesvirus (ChHV), an alphaherpesvirus isolated from a chimpanzee. Although closely related to human herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2), the level of sequence diversity confirms that ChHV is sufficiently distinct to be considered a member of a different virus species rather than a variant strain of HSV2. Phylogenetic comparison with other simplexviruses at several levels supports the hypothesis that HSV2 and ChHV co-evolved with their respective human and chimpanzee hosts and raises questions regarding the evolutionary origins of HSV1.
authors.affiliation: National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, 1015 Arlington Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada. alberto.severini@phac-aspc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Severini
authors.forename: Shaun D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Darla
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eberle
mesh_terms: D018138:Alphaherpesvirinae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral