title: The Strange, Expanding World of Animal Hepaciviruses.
abstract: Hepaciviruses and pegiviruses constitute two closely related sister genera of the family Flaviviridae. In the past five years, the known phylogenetic diversity of the hepacivirus genera has absolutely exploded. What was once an isolated infection in humans (and possibly other primates) has now expanded to include horses, rodents, bats, colobus monkeys, cows, and, most recently, catsharks, shedding new light on the genetic diversity and host range of hepaciviruses. Interestingly, despite the identification of these many animal and primate hepaciviruses, the equine hepaciviruses remain the closest genetic relatives of the human hepaciviruses, providing an intriguing clue to the zoonotic source of hepatitis C virus. This review summarizes the significance of these studies and discusses current thinking about the origin and evolution of the animal hepaciviruses as well as their potential usage as surrogate models for the study of hepatitis C virus.
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccines and Immunity, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 43205; email: amit.kapoor@nationwidechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Alex S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hartlage
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccines and Immunity, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 43205; email: amit.kapoor@nationwidechildrens.org.|Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kapoor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000821:virology; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology; D003104:Colobus / Q000821:virology; D005416:Flavivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D029405:GB virus A / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D029407:GB virus C / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses / Q000821:virology; D058507:Host Specificity; D006801:Humans; D010576:Pestivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D012754:Sharks / Q000821:virology
keywords: animal models; hepatitis C virus; hepegivirus; pegivirus; virome; virus evolution