Eco-Epidemiological Profile and Molecular Characterization of Simian Foamy Virus in a Recently-Captured Invasive Population of Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Miranda Miranda,Muniz Muniz,Molina Molina,Catão-Dias Catão-Dias,Kierulff Kierulff,Santos Santos,Pissinatti Pissinatti,Soares Soares,Bueno Bueno,Moreira Moreira

doi:10.3390/v11100931

Abstract

Simian foamy viruses (SFV) infect a wide range of Old World and Neotropical primates (NP). Unlike Old World primates, little is known about the diversity and prevalence of SFV in NP, mainly from a free-living population. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that SFV coevolved with their hosts. However, viral strains infecting Leontopithecus chrysomelas did not behave as expected for this hypothesis. The purpose of this study was to determine the eco-epidemiological profile and molecular characterization of SFV in a recently captured invasive population of L. chrysomelas located in Niteroi/RJ using buccal swab as an alternative collection method. A prevalence of 34.8% (32/92) and a mean viral load of 4.7 log copies of SFV/106 cells were observed. With respect to time since capture, SFV prevalence was significantly higher in the group of animals sampled over 6 months after capture (55.2%) than in those more recently captured (25.4%) (p = 0.005). Infected solitary animals can contribute to SFV transmission between different groups in the population. SFV strains formed two distinct clades within the SFV infecting the Cebidae family. This is the first study to use buccal swabs as a tool to study SFV diversity and prevalence in a recently free-living NP population upon recent capture.

Highlights

Simian foamy viruses (SFV) are complex retroviruses that naturally infect a wide range of non-human primates, including Neotropical primates (NP) [1,2,3]
Of the 92 animals collected at Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro (CPRJ), we found a higher proportion of males (56.5%) than females (43.5%) (Table 1)
Of the 176 species of NP that circulate in Brazil, many are threatened to extinction [35]

Summary

Introduction

Simian foamy viruses (SFV) are complex retroviruses that naturally infect a wide range of non-human primates, including Neotropical primates (NP) [1,2,3]. Phylogenetic analyses have indicated that SFV coevolved with nonhuman primates for at least 60 million years [4], contributing to the lack of pathogenicity observed in these animals [5]. In NP, the prevalence is generally higher in animals in captivity (45–51%) compared to animals in the wild (14–30%) [2,3]. The first NP SFV has been identified over four decades ago in cell cultures of spider monkey (Ateles sp.) saliva [12], very little is known about the distribution, prevalence, and genetic variability of SFVs that infect this group, and most studies have been conducted with captive animals.

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