PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SIV AND STLV TYPE-I IN MANDRILLS (MANDRILLUSSPHINX) - INDICATIONS THAT INTRACOLONY TRANSMISSIONS ARE PREDOMINANTLY THE RESULT OF MALE-TO-MALE AGGRESSIVE CONTACTS
E. Nerrienet et al., PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SIV AND STLV TYPE-I IN MANDRILLS (MANDRILLUSSPHINX) - INDICATIONS THAT INTRACOLONY TRANSMISSIONS ARE PREDOMINANTLY THE RESULT OF MALE-TO-MALE AGGRESSIVE CONTACTS, AIDS research and human retroviruses, 14(9), 1998, pp. 785-796
Natural SIVmnd and STLVmnd infections of mandrills in a colony at the
Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in
Gabon were investigated by genetic analysis to determine the extent o
f intracolony transmission. SIVmnd pol sequence analysis indicates tha
t the six strains present in the colony belong to the SIVmnd lentiviru
s subgroup previously defined according to the only available prototyp
e sequence (SIVmndGB1), which originated from the same colony. The int
raanimal nucleotide diversity (1.1-3.1%) was similar in range to that
reported in individuals infected by other HIV/SIVs, The interanimal di
versity (0.5-4.3%) was not significantly different from that observed
in each individual mandrill, indicating an epidemiological link among
the SIVmnd isolates of distinct animals within the colony. Phylogeneti
c analysis of these isolates, together with seroepidemiological and be
havior surveillance within the colony, indicates a predominant male-to
-male transmission of SIVmnd that probably occurred during bouts of in
teranimal aggression. Moreover, our results suggest one case of vertic
al transmission of SIVmnd from a naturally infected founder female to
one of her six offspring. The first genetic analysis of STLV isolates
from mandrills is also reported here. Partial tax/rex sequences were u
sed to evaluate the diversity between seven STLVmnd isolates and their
phylogenetic relationships with other known strains of human and nonh
uman primate T cell leukemia virus, types I and II (PTLV-I/II). They a
ll belong to the PTLV-I subtype, but two genetically distinct STLVmnd
groups were evidenced within the mandrill colony. The phylogenetic ana
lyses of the STLVmnd isolates, together with seroepidemiological and b
ehavior surveillance of the mandrills, indicate that intracolony trans
missions of STLVmnd are also predominantly the result of male-to-male
aggressive contacts.