title: Discovery and characterization of distinct simian pegiviruses in three wild African Old World monkey species.
abstract: Within the Flaviviridae, the recently designated genus Pegivirus has expanded greatly due to new discoveries in bats, horses, and rodents. Here we report the discovery and characterization of three simian pegiviruses (SPgV) that resemble human pegivirus (HPgV) and infect red colobus monkeys (Procolobus tephrosceles), red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius) and an olive baboon (Papio anubis). We have designated these viruses SPgVkrc, SPgVkrtg and SPgVkbab, reflecting their host species' common names, which include reference to their location of origin in Kibale National Park, Uganda. SPgVkrc and SPgVkrtg were detected in 47% (28/60) of red colobus and 42% (5/12) red-tailed guenons, respectively, while SPgVkbab infection was observed in 1 of 23 olive baboons tested. Infections were not associated with any apparent disease, despite the generally high viral loads observed for each variant. These viruses were monophyletic and equally divergent from HPgV and pegiviruses previously identified in chimpanzees (SPgVcpz). Overall, the high degree of conservation of genetic features among the novel SPgVs, HPgV and SPgVcpz suggests conservation of function among these closely related viruses. Our study describes the first primate pegiviruses detected in Old World monkeys, expanding the known genetic diversity and host range of pegiviruses and providing insight into the natural history of this genus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Samuel D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Sibley
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lauck
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Adam L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hyeroba
authors.affiliation: Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tumukunde
authors.affiliation: Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weny
authors.affiliation: Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Department of Anthropology and McGill School of Environment, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Colin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America; Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America; Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tony L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America; Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Friedrich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002521:Cercopithecus / Q000821:virology*; D003104:Colobus / Q000821:virology*; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D048530:Papio anubis / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny