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Abstract
Infectious diseases have caused die-offs in both free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees. Understanding pathogen diversity and disease ecology is therefore critical for conserving these endangered animals. To determine viral diversity in free-ranging, non-habituated gorillas and chimpanzees in the Republic of Congo, genetic testing was performed on great-ape fecal samples collected near Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Samples were analyzed to determine ape species, identify individuals in the population, and to test for the presence of herpesviruses, adenoviruses, poxviruses, bocaviruses, flaviviruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses, filoviruses, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We identified 19 DNA viruses representing two viral families, Herpesviridae and Adenoviridae, of which three herpesviruses had not been previously described. Co-detections of multiple herpesviruses and/or adenoviruses were present in both gorillas and chimpanzees. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and lymphocryptovirus (LCV) were found primarily in the context of co-association with each other and adenoviruses. Using viral discovery curves for herpesviruses and adenoviruses, the total viral richness in the sample population of gorillas and chimpanzees was estimated to be a minimum of 23 viruses, corresponding to a detection rate of 83%. These findings represent the first description of DNA viral diversity in feces from free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees in or near the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and form a basis for understanding the types of viruses circulating among great apes in this region.
Highlights
With the exception of humans, all members of the family Hominidae, which includes a total of 6 species and 11 subspecies of chimpanzees, apes, and orangutans, are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Our result shows that when estimating the viral richness for both herpesviruses and adenoviruses, the Chao 2 estimator began to plateau at 100 individuals, and was stable by 125
Failed to stabilize for total viruses and gammaherpesvirus. These results suggest that our estimate of viral richness of adenovirus subgroups and betaherpesvirus has not been influenced by ambient storage, gammaherpesvirus viral richness may have been underestimated in our total estimation of viral richness of 23 viruses
Summary
With the exception of humans, all members of the family Hominidae, which includes a total of 6 species and 11 subspecies of chimpanzees, apes, and orangutans, are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (http://www.iucnredlist.org/). Infectious disease, in particular Ebola virus disease, has more recently been recognized as an additional significant conservation threat that has caused periodic outbreaks with mortality as high as 90% in some populations [1]. 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic (have a non-human origin) and of these, approximately 70% come from wildlife [2,3]. Wildlife face challenges through increased contact and subsequent disease transmission from humans, as has been documented in outbreaks and mortality due to polio in chimpanzees and respiratory tract diseases, including influenza and metapneumovirus infections, in chimpanzees and gorillas [9,10,11]
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