Simian Foamy Virus Prevalence and Evolutionary Relationships in Two Free-Living Lion Tamarin Populations from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Simian foamy virus (SFV) is a retrovirus that infects primates, including American primates (AP), but epidemiological studies are often limited to captive animals. The state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) is home to an endemic AP species, Leontopithecus rosalia, and an invasive species, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, both endangered. This study assessed the molecular prevalence of SFV in these species. Genomic DNA was extracted from 48 oral swab samples of L. chrysomelas (Niterói/RJ) and 102 of L. rosalia (Silva Jardim/RJ). qPCR was performed to diagnose and evaluate proviral load (pVL). SFV prevalence was 23% in L. chrysomelas and 33% in L. rosalia. No age-related differences were observed, but L. rosalia showed a higher average pVL (3.27 log10/10⁶ cells) compared to L. chrysomelas (3.03 log10/10⁶ cells) (p=0.005). The viral sequence of L. rosalia clustered within a monophyletic SFVlro clade, distinct from two SFVlchrysom lineages. Origin of SFVlro dates back to 79.6 thousands of years ago. This was the first study to determine the molecular prevalence of SFV in free-living populations of Leontopithecus, and may be of great importance for elucidating the complex evolutionary history of SFV in AP.