The tax gene sequences form two divergent monophyletic lineages corresponding to types I and II of simian and human T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic viruses

• Published in: Virology (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 1997-04, Vol.231 (1), p.96-104
• Main Authors: Giri, A, Slattery, J P, Heneine, W, Gessain, A, Rivadeneira, E, Desrosiers, R C, Rosen, L, Anthony, R, Pamungkas, J, Iskandriati, D, Richards, A L, Herve, V, McClure, H, O'Brien, S J, Franchini, G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AIDS/HIV; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; DNA, Viral; Gene Products, tax - genetics; Genes, Viral; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - classification; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - genetics; Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 - classification; Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 - genetics; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Primates; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 - classification; Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 - genetics
• ISSN: 0042-6822
• DOI: 10.1006/viro.1997.8511

Evolutionary associations of human and simian T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic viruses I and II (HTLV-I/II and STLV-I/II) are inferred from phylogenetic analysis of tax gene sequences. Samples studied consisted of a geographically diverse assemblage of viral strains obtained from 10 human subjects and 20 individuals representing 12 species of nonhuman primates. Sequence analyses identified distinct substitutions, which distinguished between viral types I and II, irrespective of host species. Phylogenetic reconstruction of nucleotide sequences strongly supported two major evolutionary groups corresponding to viral types I and II. With the type I lineage, clusters were composed of strains from multiple host species. A genetically diverse, monophyletic lineage consisting of eight new viral strains from several species of Asian macaques was identified. The second lineage consisted of a monophyletic assemblage of HTLV-II/STLV-II strains from Africa and the New World, including an isolate from a pygmy chimp (Pan paniscus) as an early divergence within the lineage. High levels of genetic variation among strains from Asian STLV-I macaque suggest the virus arose in Asia. Evidence of the origin of the type II virus is less clear, but diversity among HTLV-II variants from a single isolated population of Mbati villagers is suggestive but not proof of an African origin.