title: Assessing Host-Virus Codivergence for Close Relatives of Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infecting African Great Apes.
abstract: It has long been hypothesized that polyomaviruses (PyV; family Polyomaviridae) codiverged with their animal hosts. In contrast, recent analyses suggested that codivergence may only marginally influence the evolution of PyV. We reassess this question by focusing on a single lineage of PyV infecting hominine hosts, the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) lineage. By characterizing the genetic diversity of these viruses in seven African great ape taxa, we show that they exhibit very strong host specificity. Reconciliation analyses identify more codivergence than noncodivergence events. In addition, we find that a number of host and PyV divergence events are synchronous. Collectively, our results support codivergence as the dominant process at play during the evolution of the MCPyV lineage. More generally, our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting an ancient and stable association of PyV and their animal hosts.
  
  
  
  The processes involved in viral evolution and the interaction of viruses with their hosts are of great scientific interest and public health relevance. It has long been thought that the genetic diversity of double-stranded DNA viruses was generated over long periods of time, similar to typical host evolutionary timescales. This was also hypothesized for polyomaviruses (family Polyomaviridae), a group comprising several human pathogens, but this remains a point of controversy. Here, we investigate this question by focusing on a single lineage of polyomaviruses that infect both humans and their closest relatives, the African great apes. We show that these viruses exhibit considerable host specificity and that their evolution largely mirrors that of their hosts, suggesting that codivergence with their hosts played a major role in their diversification. Our results provide statistical evidence in favor of an association of polyomaviruses and their hosts over millions of years.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany Institut de Recherches en Ecologie Tropicale, Libreville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Nadège F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Madinda
authors.affiliation: FG12, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Viruses Affecting Immunocompromised Patients, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ehlers
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Joel O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Wertheim
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Alassane Ouattara de Bouake, Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Akoua-Koffi
authors.affiliation: North Carolina Zoological Park, Asheboro, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bergl
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boesch
authors.affiliation: Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Dieudonné Boji Mungu
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Akonkwa
authors.affiliation: Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Emory University, Druid Hills, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eckardt
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurobiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fruth
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Emory University, Druid Hills, Georgia, USA Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Druid Hills, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: International Gorilla Conservation Program, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Maryke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Gottfried
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hohmann
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Stomy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karhemere
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, Grauer's Gorilla Project, Kinshasa-Gombe, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Deo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kujirakwinja
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Langergraber
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Muyembe
authors.affiliation: Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Radar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nishuli
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany FG12, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Viruses Affecting Immunocompromised Patients, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Maude
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pauly
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic Department of Pathology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic Liberec Zoo, Liberec, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klara J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Petrzelkova
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Martha M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.affiliation: World Wildlife Foundation, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Angelique
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Grit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.affiliation: Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Emory University, Druid Hills, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Tara S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Stoinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Roman M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wittig
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zuberbühler
authors.affiliation: Unité Mixte Internationale 233, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, INSERM U1175, and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France Computational Biology Institute, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Leendertz
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany calvignacs@rki.de.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calvignac-Spencer
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015186:Hominidae; D058507:Host Specificity; D059965:Merkel cell polyomavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology