Discovery of Novel Herpes Simplexviruses in Wild Gorillas, Bonobos, and Chimpanzees Supports Zoonotic Origin of HSV-2

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Joel O Wertheim, University of California San Diego; Reilly Hostager, University of California San Diego; Diane Ryu, Robert Koch Institute; Kevin Merkel, Robert Koch Institute; Samuel Angedakin, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Mimi Arandjelovic, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Emmnauel Ayuk Ayimisin, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Fred Babweteera, Budongo Conservation Field Station, Uganda; Mattia Bessone, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Kathryn J Brun-Jeffery, University of Stirling; Paula Dieguez, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Winnie Eckardt, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Int; Barbara Fruth, Liverpool John Moores University; Ilka Herbinger, WWF Germany; Sorrel Jones, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Hjalmar Kuehl, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Kevin E Langergraber, Arizona State University-Tempe; Kevin Lee, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Nadege F Madinda, Robert Koch Institute; Sonja Metzger, Robert Koch Institute; Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Martha M Robbins, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Volker Sommer, University College London; Tara Stoinski, Emory University; Erin G Wessling, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Roman M Wittig, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Yisa Ginath Yuh, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropol; Fabian H Leendertz, Robert Koch Institute; Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, Robert Koch Institute
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-03-15
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab072
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 2818
• End Page: 2830
• Keywords: ALIGNMENT; Science & Technology; zoonosis; Evolutionary Biology; herpesvirus; phylogenetics; DIVERGENCE TIMES; GENOME SEQUENCE; HISTORY; MODEL; APES; AGE; molecular clock; ACCURACY; RECOMBINATION EVENTS; Genetics & Heredity; EVOLUTION; ape; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• Research Categories: Anthropology, Medical and Forensic; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Viruses closely related to human pathogens can reveal the origins of human infectious diseases. Human herpes simplexvirus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are hypothesized to have arisen via host-virus codivergence and cross-species transmission. We report the discovery of novel herpes simplexviruses during a large-scale screening of fecal samples from wild gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, contrary to expectation, simplexviruses from these African apes are all more closely related to HSV-2 than to HSV-1. Molecular clock-based hypothesis testing suggests the divergence between HSV-1 and the African great ape simplexviruses likely represents a codivergence event between humans and gorillas. The simplexviruses infecting African great apes subsequently experienced multiple cross-species transmission events over the past 3 My, the most recent of which occurred between humans and bonobos around 1 Ma. These findings revise our understanding of the origins of human herpes simplexviruses and suggest that HSV-2 is one of the earliest zoonotic pathogens.