Origin of HIV-1 Linked to a Subspecies of Chimpanzee
Origin of HIV-1 Linked to a Subspecies of Chimpanzee
Walid Heneine
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*Correspondence: Walid Heneine, Email not available
Abstract
The origin of HIV-1 has been a puzzle ever sincethe virus was identified in 1983. In contrast, sootymangabeys have been implicated as the origin of HIV-2. In the February 4 issue of Nature (vol 397,pages 436-41), Gao et al. provided evidence thatHIV-1 was transmitted to humans from the chimpanzees,Pan troglodytes, which harbor relatedsimian immunodeficiency viruses, SIVcpz. Gao etal. demonstrated further by genetic typing of themitochondrial DNA that the three known SIVcpzmost closely related to HIV-1 all come from thesame subspecies, Pan troglodytes troglodytes,which lives in the same part of Central Africa whereAIDS is thought to have originated.
