scholarly journals Anthrax in Western and Central African great apes

2006 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 928-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian H. Leendertz ◽  
Felix Lankester ◽  
Patrick Guislain ◽  
Cécile Néel ◽  
Ofir Drori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Apes ◽  
African Great Apes

scholarly journals Assessing Host-Virus Codivergence for Close Relatives of Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infecting African Great Apes

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (19) ◽  
pp. 8531-8541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadège F. Madinda ◽  
Bernhard Ehlers ◽  
Joel O. Wertheim ◽  
Chantal Akoua-Koffi ◽  
Richard A. Bergl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Host Specificity ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus ◽  
Merkel Cell ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Animal Hosts ◽  
African Great Apes

ABSTRACTIt has long been hypothesized that polyomaviruses (PyV; familyPolyomaviridae) codiverged with their animal hosts. In contrast, recent analyses suggested that codivergence may only marginally influence the evolution of PyV. We reassess this question by focusing on a single lineage of PyV infecting hominine hosts, the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) lineage. By characterizing the genetic diversity of these viruses in seven African great ape taxa, we show that they exhibit very strong host specificity. Reconciliation analyses identify more codivergence than noncodivergence events. In addition, we find that a number of host and PyV divergence events are synchronous. Collectively, our results support codivergence as the dominant process at play during the evolution of the MCPyV lineage. More generally, our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting an ancient and stable association of PyV and their animal hosts.IMPORTANCEThe processes involved in viral evolution and the interaction of viruses with their hosts are of great scientific interest and public health relevance. It has long been thought that the genetic diversity of double-stranded DNA viruses was generated over long periods of time, similar to typical host evolutionary timescales. This was also hypothesized for polyomaviruses (familyPolyomaviridae), a group comprising several human pathogens, but this remains a point of controversy. Here, we investigate this question by focusing on a single lineage of polyomaviruses that infect both humans and their closest relatives, the African great apes. We show that these viruses exhibit considerable host specificity and that their evolution largely mirrors that of their hosts, suggesting that codivergence with their hosts played a major role in their diversification. Our results provide statistical evidence in favor of an association of polyomaviruses and their hosts over millions of years.

scholarly journals Wild African great apes as natural hosts of malaria parasites: current knowledge and research perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Marie De Nys ◽  
Therese Löhrich ◽  
Doris Wu ◽  
Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer ◽  
Fabian Hubertus Leendertz
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Great Ape ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Parasite Ecology ◽  
Natural Hosts ◽  
African Great Apes

Abstract. Humans and African great apes (AGAs) are naturally infected with several species of closely related malaria parasites. The need to understand the origins of human malaria as well as the risk of zoonotic transmissions and emergence of new malaria strains in human populations has markedly encouraged research on great ape Plasmodium parasites. Progress in the use of non-invasive methods has rendered investigations into wild ape populations possible. Present knowledge is mainly focused on parasite diversity and phylogeny, with still large gaps to fill on malaria parasite ecology. Understanding what malaria infection means in terms of great ape health is also an important, but challenging avenue of research and has been subject to relatively few research efforts so far. This paper reviews current knowledge on African great ape malaria and identifies gaps and future research perspectives.

scholarly journals African great apes are natural hosts of multiple related malaria species, including Plasmodium falciparum

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 1458-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Prugnolle ◽  
P. Durand ◽  
C. Neel ◽  
B. Ollomo ◽  
F. J. Ayala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Natural Hosts ◽  
Malaria Species ◽  
African Great Apes

scholarly journals African Great Apes Are Naturally Infected with Roseoloviruses Closely Related to Human Herpesvirus 7

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (22) ◽  
pp. 13212-13220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lavergne ◽  
D. Donato ◽  
A. Gessain ◽  
H. Niphuis ◽  
E. Nerrienet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Herpesvirus ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
African Great Apes

scholarly journals Fertility as a constraint on group size in African great Apes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
R I M Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
African Great Apes ◽  
Cognitive Cost ◽  
Size And Structure ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

Abstract Gorillas and chimpanzees live in social groups of very different size and structure. Here I test the hypothesis that this difference might reflect the way fertility maps onto group demography as it does in other Catarrhines. For both genera, birth rates and the number of surviving offspring per female are quadratic (or ∩-shaped) functions of the number of adult females in the group, and this is independent of environmental effects. The rate at which fertility declines ultimately imposes a constraint on the size of social groups that can be maintained in both taxa. The differences in group size between the two genera seem to reflect a contrast in the way females buffer themselves against this cost. Gorillas do this by using males as bodyguards, whereas chimpanzees exploit fission–fusion sociality to do so. The latter allows chimpanzees to live in much larger groups without paying a fertility cost (albeit at a cognitive cost).

scholarly journals Pan African Sanctuary Alliance: securing a future for the African great apes

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Stokes ◽  
G. Tully ◽  
A. G. Rosati
Keyword(s):  
Great Apes ◽  
Pan African ◽  
African Great Apes

Discrepancies in the Occurrence of Balantidium coli Between Wild and Captive African Great Apes

2010 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 1139-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateřina Pomajbíková ◽  
Klára J. Petrželková ◽  
Ilona Profousová ◽  
Jana Petrášová ◽  
David Modrý
Keyword(s):  
Great Apes ◽  
Balantidium Coli ◽  
African Great Apes

Recent decline in suitable environmental conditions for African great apes

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1077-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Junker ◽  
Stephen Blake ◽  
Christophe Boesch ◽  
Geneviève Campbell ◽  
Louwrens du Toit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
African Great Apes

scholarly journals Reconstructing the ancestral phenotypes of great apes and humans (Homininae) using subspecies-level phylogenies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keaghan J Yaxley ◽  
Robert A Foley
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Last Common Ancestor ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Great Ape ◽  
Subspecies Level ◽  
African Great Apes

Abstract Owing to their close affinity, the African great apes are of interest in the study of human evolution. Although numerous researchers have described the ancestors we share with these species with reference to extant great apes, few have done so with phylogenetic comparative methods. One obstacle to the application of these techniques is the within-species phenotypic variation found in this group. Here, we leverage this variation, modelling common ancestors using ancestral state reconstructions (ASRs) with reference to subspecies-level trait data. A subspecies-level phylogeny of the African great apes and humans was estimated from full-genome mitochondrial DNA sequences and used to implement ASRs for 14 continuous traits known to vary between great ape subspecies. Although the inclusion of within-species phenotypic variation increased the phylogenetic signal for our traits and improved the performance of our ASRs, whether this was done through the inclusion of subspecies phylogeny or through the use of existing methods made little difference. Our ASRs corroborate previous findings that the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and bonobos was a chimp-like animal, but also suggest that the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas was an animal unlike any extant African great ape.

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