THE USE OF DEGENERATE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION PRIMERS TO SEARCH FOR NOVEL HERPESVIRUSES

Abstract

This study investigated whether baboons are infected with a 𝑦2 rhadinovirus (RV). To date, two lineages of 𝑦2 rhadinoviruses have been identified in nonhuman primates with Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) and similar viruses classified as RV1 and rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV) and similar viruses classified as RV2. A thorough survey of baboons for 𝑦2 rhadinoviruses has yet to be conducted. The results reported here in which an RV2 virus, PapRV2, was identified indicate that such studies will help develop phylogenetic relationships of nonhuman primate RVs. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from captive baboons housed at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, OK. were screened by degenerate PCR for several herpesvirus gene regions. In three of the eight animals screened, novel baboon RV2 sequences were identified for both the thymidylate synthase (TS) and polymerase genes. The polymerase amino acid sequence obtained from one baboon belonging to Papio anubis was analyzed by phylogenetic analysis and appears to be a new member of the RV2 group which has been named Papio RV2 (PapRV2). From several of the animals we also amplified a smaller polymerase sequence that had homology to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), a human 𝑦1 lymphocryptovirus, and was named Papio lymphocryptovirus (PapLCV). An RV1 virus has yet to be identified in baboons but speculate that the young age of the animals screened may have been the reason for this. The successful identification of a novel RV2 herpesvirus in baboons by degenerate FOR demonstrates how this method can be used in the continuing investigation to search for a 𝑦2 RV1 homologue in baboons and when applied to human studies, a postulated human 𝑦2 - RV2 homologue.