Monkey pee, monkey poo
One-year-old Flick gets a clean bill of health. <br>© Science <br>
Chimpanzee waste could shed light on the origins and spread of HIV.
Delving into droppings has given AIDS researchers a surprise. Far fewer chimpanzees than they had suspected have SIVcpz, the animal virus most like HIV.
The technique could shed much-needed light on the origins and evolution of the viruses that cause AIDS. “It’s a non-invasive means to study the wild relative of HIV in its natural environment,” says Beatrice Hahn, of the University of Alabama in Birmingham, who led the new study1.
Working in Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda and Tanzania, Hahn’s team collected urine in upturned umbrellas left beneath chimp nests. They tested this for antibodies against SIVcpz (simian immunodeficiency virus). They then tested the faeces of SIVcpz -positive animals to identify which virus strain they had. Three strains of SIVcpz are closely related to HIV-1, which causes the majority of AIDS deaths in the West.
Of 58 animals tested, just one had SIVcpz. This figure has HIV experts intrigued: SIV rates can reach 90% in other primates such as African green monkeys. Many expected similar levels of infection in wild chimps.
“The prevalence is remarkably low,” says Edward Holmes of the University of Oxford, UK, who studies the origin and evolution of AIDS. The finding suggests that SIV spreads very slowly between wild chimps even in central West Africa. Yet it is here, in the forests of Cameroon and Gabon, that the SIVcpz strains most similar to HIV-1 are believed to have originated and spawned the AIDS pandemic.
That SIVcpz seems to spread poorly may have some bearing on why HIV spreads so well – even in non-human primates deliberately infected with HIV-1. “It’s interesting to know that SIVcpz is not super-infectious,” says Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France.
Low in the mix
Until more wild animals are tested, scientists should not rush to draw too many conclusions, Hahn cautions. SIVcpz may be more common in chimps than this first faecal and urine survey suggests. Colonies rarely mix and deforestation has restricted their movement. So the virus could well be found in other groups in the future.
Holmes agrees: “There must be populations out there and we just haven’t found them.” SIVcpz is a relatively young virus, says Holmes. Having been present in chimps for perhaps less than 100 years, it is unlikely to have died out.
Continued sampling of chimpanzee waste, especially in central West Africa, may pinpoint the few populations that still harbour the ancestor of HIV-1.
The technique could also help to monitor the risk of other infectious diseases emerging from our wild relatives as we continue to encroach on their habitat. “It really does open a door to look for [other] viruses in endangered populations,” Holmes says.
References
- Santiago, M. L. et al. SIVcpz in wild chimpanzees. Science, 295, 465, (2002).
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020114/020114-10.htmlAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
SpinMagIC: ‘EPR on a chip’ ensures quality of olive oil and beer
Spin-off company offers a tiny solution for a big problem. The first sign of spoilage in many food products is the formation of free radicals, which reduces the shelf-life and…
Impressive results against autoimmune disease
Severe systemic lupus no longer detectable after cancer medication treatment. The team at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is astounded by the huge improvement seen in a female patient with severe…
UCF researchers develop rapid test to detect dopamine
The sensor could serve as a low-cost and efficient tool for early detection of neurological disorders and conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in our…