Human Herpesvirus 7 with Roseoloviruses Closely Related to African Great Apes Are Naturally Infected Supplemental material
Résumé
Primates are naturally infected with herpesviruses. During the last 15 years, the search for homologues of human herpesviruses
in nonhuman primates allowed the identification of numerous viruses belonging to the different herpesvirus subfamilies and
genera. No simian homologue of human herpesvirus 7 (HHV7) has been reported to date. To investigate the putative existence of
HHV7-like viruses in African great apes, we applied the consensus-degenerate hybrid oligonucleotide primers (CODEHOP) program-
mediated PCR strategy to blood DNA samples from the four common chimpanzee subspecies (Pan troglodytes verus, P. t.
ellioti, P. t. troglodytes, and P. t. schweinfurthii), pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus), as well as lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla
gorilla). This study led to the discovery of a novel roseolovirus close to HHV7 in each of these nonhuman primate species and
subspecies. Generation of the partial glycoprotein B (1,111-bp) and full-length DNA polymerase (3,036/3,042-bp) gene sequences
allowed the deciphering of their evolutionary relationships. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that HHV7 and its African
great ape homologues formed well-supported monophyletic lineages whose topological resemblance to the host phylogeny is
suggestive of virus-host codivergence. Notably, the evolutionary branching points that separate HHV7 from African great ape
herpesvirus 7 are remarkably congruent with the dates of divergence of their hosts. Our study shows that African great apes are
hosts of human herpesvirus homologues, including HHV7 homologues, and that the latter, like other DNA viruses that establish
persistent infections, have cospeciated with their hosts.