Phylogenetic analysis of SIV and STLV type I in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx): indications that intracolony transmissions are predominantly the result of male-to-male aggressive contacts.

Natural SIVmnd and STLVmnd infections of mandrills in a colony at the Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in Gabon were investigated by genetic analysis to determine the extent of intracolony transmission. SIVmnd pol sequence analysis indicates that the six strains present in the colony belong to the SIVmnd lentivirus subgroup previously defined according to the only available prototype sequence (SIVmndGB1), which originated from the same colony. The intraanimal nucleotide diversity (1.1-3.1%) was similar in range to that reported in individuals infected by other HIV/SIVs. The interanimal diversity (0.5-4.3%) was not significantly different from that observed in each individual mandrill, indicating an epidemiological link among the SIVmnd isolates of distinct animals within the colony. Phylogenetic analysis of these isolates, together with seroepidemiological and behavior surveillance within the colony, indicates a predominant male-to-male transmission of SIVmnd that probably occurred during bouts of interanimal aggression. Moreover, our results suggest one case of vertical transmission of SIVmnd from a naturally infected founder female to one of her six offspring. The first genetic analysis of STLV isolates from mandrills is also reported here. Partial tax/rex sequences were used to evaluate the diversity between seven STLVmnd isolates and their phylogenetic relationships with other known strains of human and nonhuman primate T cell leukemia virus, types I and II (PTLV-I/II). They all belong to the PTLV-I subtype, but two genetically distinct STLVmnd groups were evidenced within the mandrill colony. The phylogenetic analyses of the STLVmnd isolates, together with seroepidemiological and behavior surveillance of the mandrills, indicate that intracolony transmissions of STLVmnd are also predominantly the result of male-to-male aggressive contacts.