Data from: Mother-offspring transmission and age-dependent accumulation of simian foamy virus in wild chimpanzees

Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) are thought to infect virtually any adult non-human primate (NHP). While much data have accumulated about patterns of co-divergence with their hosts and cross-species transmission events, little is known about the modalities of SFV transmission within NHP species, especially in the wild. Here we provide a detailed investigation of the dynamics of SFV circulation in a wild community of Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). We demonstrate that mother–offspring (vertical) SFV transmission is common and hypothesize that it accounts for a number of primary infections. We also show that multiple infections with several chimpanzee specific SFV strains (i.e., super-infection) commonly happen in adult chimpanzees, which might point at adult-specific aggressive behaviors as a lifelong source of SFV infection. Our data give evidence for complex SFV dynamics in wild chimpanzees, even at a single community scale, and show that linking wild NHP social interactions and their microorganisms’ dynamics is feasible.

猿泡沫病毒（Simian Foamy Viruses, SFVs）被认为几乎可感染所有成年非人灵长类（non-human primate, NHP）。尽管学界已积累了大量关于其与宿主共趋同演化模式以及跨物种传播事件的相关数据，但针对非人灵长类物种内部猿泡沫病毒的传播方式，尤其是野外环境中的传播路径，目前仍知之甚少。本研究针对西非黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes verus）的野生社群，详细探究了猿泡沫病毒的传播动态。研究证实，母婴（垂直）猿泡沫病毒传播较为普遍，并推测该传播途径是多数原发感染的主要成因。同时，研究发现成年黑猩猩常会感染多种黑猩猩特异性猿泡沫病毒毒株（即重复感染），这提示成年个体特有的攻击行为可能是终身性的猿泡沫病毒感染来源。本研究数据证实，即便在单个野生黑猩猩社群的尺度下，猿泡沫病毒的传播动态也极为复杂；同时证明，将野生非人灵长类的社会互动与其微生物动态相关联是具有可行性的。