1. Novel circular DNA viruses in stool samples of wild-living chimpanzees
- Author
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Joseph Victoria, Martine Peeters, Beatrice H. Hahn, Crickette M. Sanz, Michael L. Wilson, Yingying Li, Eric Delwart, Dominic A. Travis, Anne E. Pusey, Jean-Bosco N. Ndjango, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Brandon F. Keele, and Olga Blinkova
- Subjects
Circovirus ,Models, Molecular ,Genes, Viral ,Pan troglodytes ,viruses ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Sequence Homology ,Animals, Wild ,Genomics ,Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Genome ,law.invention ,Feces ,law ,Virology ,Plant virus ,Rolling circle DNA replication ,Animals ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Geminiviridae ,Gene ,Phylogeny ,Polymerase chain reaction ,Genetics ,biology ,Animal ,Nanovirus ,DNA Viruses ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,biology.organism_classification ,DNA Virus Infections ,Viral replication ,DNA, Viral ,Nucleic Acid Conformation ,DNA, Circular ,Sequence Alignment - Abstract
Viral particles in stool samples from wild-living chimpanzees were analysed using random PCR amplification and sequencing. Sequences encoding proteins distantly related to the replicase protein of single-stranded circular DNA viruses were identified. Inverse PCR was used to amplify and sequence multiple small circular DNA viral genomes. The viral genomes were related in size and genome organization to vertebrate circoviruses and plant geminiviruses but with a different location for the stem-loop structure involved in rolling circle DNA replication. The replicase genes of these viruses were most closely related to those of the much smaller (approximately 1 kb) plant nanovirus circular DNA chromosomes. Because the viruses have characteristics of both animal and plant viruses, we named them chimpanzee stool-associated circular viruses (ChiSCV). Further metagenomic studies of animal samples will greatly increase our knowledge of viral diversity and evolution.
- Published
- 2009
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