title: Discovery and full genome characterization of a new SIV lineage infecting red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) in Kibale National Park, Uganda.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 and 2, the causative agents of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), emerged from African non-human primates (NHPs) through zoonotic transmission of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV). Among African NHPs, the Cercopithecus genus contains the largest number of species known to harbor SIV. However, our understanding of the diversity and evolution of SIVs infecting this genus is limited by incomplete taxonomic and geographic sampling, particularly in East Africa. In this study, we screened blood specimens from red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) from Kibale National Park, Uganda, for the presence of novel SIVs using unbiased deep-sequencing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We describe and characterize the first full-length SIV genomes from wild red-tailed guenons in Kibale National Park, Uganda. This new virus, tentatively named SIVrtg_Kib, was detected in five out of twelve animals and is highly divergent from other Cercopithecus SIVs as well as from previously identified SIVs infecting red-tailed guenons, thus forming a new SIV lineage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that the genetic diversity of SIVs infecting red-tailed guenons is greater than previously appreciated. This diversity could be the result of cross-species transmission between different guenon species or limited gene flow due to geographic separation among guenon populations.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lauck
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Switzer
authors.forename: Samuel D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Sibley
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hyeroba
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tumukunde
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weny
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.forename: Justin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ericsen
authors.forename: HaoQiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: Colin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Tony L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, 555 Science Dr, 53705 Madison, WI, USA. david.h.oconnor@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: O'Connor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002521:Cercopithecus / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014454:Uganda