Scientific Publications Database

Article Title: Bayesian inference reveals ancient origin of simian foamy virus in orangutans
Authors: Reid, Michael J. C.; Switzer, William M.; Schillaci, Michael A.; Klegarth, Amy R.; Campbell, Ellsworth; Ragonnet-Cronin, Manon; Joanisse, Isabelle; Caminiti, Kyna; Lowenberger, Carl A.; Galdikas, Birute Mary F.; Hollocher, Hope; Sandstrom, Paul A.; Brooks, James I.
Journal: INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION Volume 51
Date of Publication:2017
Abstract:
Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) infect most nonhuman primate species and appears to co-evolve with its hosts. This co-evolutionary signal is particularly strong among great apes, including orangutans (genus Pongo). Previous studies have identified three distinct orangutan SFV clades. The first of these three clades is composed of SFV from P. abelii from Sumatra, the second consists of SW from P. pygmaeus from Borneo, while the third Glade is mixed, comprising an SW strain found in both species of orangutan. The existence of the mixed clade has been attributed to an expansion of P. pygmaeus into Sumatra following the Mount Toba super-volcanic eruption about 73,000 years ago. Divergence dating, however, has yet to be performed to establish a temporal association with the Toba eruption. Here, we use a Bayesian framework and a relaxed molecular clock model with fossil calibrations to test the Toba hypothesis and to gain a more complete understanding of the evolutionary history of orangutan SW. As with previous studies, our results show a similar three-Glade orangutan SW phylogeny, along with strong statistical support for SW-host co-evolution in orangutans. Using Bayesian inference, we date the origin of orangutan SW to >4.7 million years ago (mya), while the mixed species Glade dates to approximately 1.7 mya, >1.6 million years older than the Toba super-eruption. These results, combined with fossil and paleogeographic evidence, suggest that the origin of SW in Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, including the mixed species Glade, likely occurred on the mainland of Indo-China during the Late Pliocene and Calabrian stage of the Pleistocene, respectively. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.