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bioRxiv · 10.1101/093641

Ancient recombination events between human herpes simplex viruses

Burrel, S.·Boutolleau, D.·Ryu, D.·Agut, H.·Merkel, K.·Leendertz, F.·Calvignac-Spencer, S.
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Abstract

Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) are seen as close relatives but also unambiguously considered as evolutionary independent units. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 18 HSV-2 isolates characterized by divergent UL30 gene sequences to further elucidate the evolutionary history of this virus. Surprisingly, genome-wide recombination analyses showed that all HSV-2 genomes sequenced to date comprise HSV-1 fragments. Using phylogenomic analyses, we could also show that two main HSV-2 lineages exist. One lineage is mostly restricted to sub-Saharan Africa while the other has reached a global distribution. Interestingly, only the worldwide lineage is characterized by ancient recombination events with HSV-1. Our findings highlight the complexity of HSV-2 evolution, a virus of likely zoonotic origin which later recombined with its human-adapted relative. They also suggest that co-infections with HSV-1 and 2 may have genomic and potentially functional consequences and should therefore be monitored more closely.

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Burrel, S., Boutolleau, D., Ryu, D., Agut, H., Merkel, K., Leendertz, F., Calvignac-Spencer, S.. 2016-12-14. Ancient recombination events between human herpes simplex viruses. https://doi.org/10.1101/093641

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