New World monkey

Abstract: Olfactory receptor (OR) genes constitute the molecular basis for the sense of smell and are encoded by the largest gene family in mammalian genomes. Previous studies suggested that the proportion of pseudogenes in the OR gene family is significantly larger in humans than in other apes and significantly larger in apes than in the mouse. To investigate the process of degeneration of the olfactory repertoire in primates, we estimated the proportion of OR pseudogenes in 19 primate species by surveying randomly chosen subsets of 100 OR genes from each species. We find that apes, Old World monkeys and one New World monkey, the howler monkey, have a significantly higher proportion of OR pseudogenes than do other New World monkeys or the lemur (a prosimian). Strikingly, the howler monkey is also the only New World monkey to possess full trichromatic vision, along with Old World monkeys and apes. Our findings suggest that the deterioration of the olfactory repertoire occurred concomitant with the acquisition of full trichromatic color vision in primates.

Abstract: Adenoviruses are DNA viruses that naturally infect many vertebrates, including humans and monkeys, and cause a wide range of clinical illnesses in humans Infection from individual strains has conventionally been thought to be species-specific Here we applied the Virochip, a pan-viral microarray, to identify a novel adenovirus (TMAdV, titi monkey adenovirus) as the cause of a deadly outbreak in a closed colony of New World monkeys (titi monkeys; Callicebus cupreus) at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) Among 65 titi monkeys housed in a building, 23 (34%) developed upper respiratory symptoms that progressed to fulminant pneumonia and hepatitis, and 19 of 23 monkeys, or 83% of those infected, died or were humanely euthanized Whole-genome sequencing of TMAdV revealed that this adenovirus is a new species and highly divergent, sharing <57% pairwise nucleotide identity with other adenoviruses Cultivation of TMAdV was successful in a human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line, but not in primary or established monkey kidney cells At the onset of the outbreak, the researcher in closest contact with the monkeys developed an acute respiratory illness, with symptoms persisting for 4 weeks, and had a convalescent serum sample seropositive for TMAdV A clinically ill family member, despite having no contact with the CNPRC, also tested positive, and screening of a set of 81 random adult blood donors from the Western United States detected TMAdV-specific neutralizing antibodies in 2 individuals (2/81, or 25%) These findings raise the possibility of zoonotic infection by TMAdV and human-to-human transmission of the virus in the population Given the unusually high case fatality rate from the outbreak (83%), it is unlikely that titi monkeys are the native host species for TMAdV, and the natural reservoir of the virus is still unknown The discovery of TMAdV, a novel adenovirus with the capacity to infect both monkeys and humans, suggests that adenoviruses should be monitored closely as potential causes of cross-species outbreaks

Abstract: Nucleic acid sequences homologous to a single-stranded [(3)H]DNA transcript prepared from a baboon type C virus replicating in dog thymus cells can be readily detected in the cellular DNA of several Old World monkeys (baboon, patas, African green, and two species of macaques-rhesus and stumptail). These results demonstrate that primates other than the baboon also contain endogenous type C viral genes. With the hybridization conditions employed (S(1) nuclease, 65 C), no homologous sequences were detected in DNA from human or New World monkey tissues. Of various nonprimate tissues examined, only domestic cat cellular DNA was partially homologous to the baboon virus [(3)H]DNA transcript. In reciprocal experiments, [(3)H]DNA transcripts of RNAs from endogenous cat viruses (RD-114/CCC group) show a significant partial homology with cellular DNA from Old World primates (baboon, patas, and rhesus monkey). The partial homology between type-C-related information in the DNA of domestic cats and various Old World monkeys suggests the possibility of horizontal transmission between the progenitors of these animals at some point in evolution. No nucleic acid sequences homologous to [(3)H]DNA transcripts prepared from type C viruses isolated from tumor tissue of a woolly monkey and a gibbon ape could be detected in any primate tissue DNA examined; however, a partial nucleic acid homology was found between woolly monkey and gibbon ape type C viral [(3)H]DNA and normal mouse cellular DNA.