Abstract
From 2010 to 2015, 73 common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) housed at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) were diagnosed postmortem with lymphocytic enteritis. We used unbiased deep-sequencing to screen the blood of deceased enteritis-positive marmosets for the presence of RNA viruses. In five out of eight marmosets found to have lymphocytic enteritis, we discovered a novel pegivirus not present in ten subsequently deep-sequenced healthy marmosets. The novel virus, which we have named Southwest bike trail virus (SOBV), is most closely related to a strain of simian pegivirus A (68% nucleotide identity) that was previously isolated from a three-striped night monkey (Aotus trivirgatus). To determine the prevalence of this novel virus within the WNPRC marmoset colony, we screened 146 living animals and found an overall prevalence of 34% (50/146). Over the next four years, 85 of the 146 screened marmosets were examined histologically for lymphocytic enteritis. Out of these 85 animals, 27 SOBV-infected common marmosets had developed lymphocytic enteritis, compared to 42 uninfected common marmosets, indicating no association between this virus and development of enteritis (p=0.820). The novel pegivirus was also found in 2 of 32 (6.25%) healthy marmosets screened while in quarantine during the transfer from the New England Primate Research Center to the WNPRC.
Importance Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are a valuable model species. We discovered two variants of a novel pegivirus, which we named the Southwest bike trail virus (SOBV), in common marmosets which had postmortem histologic diagnosis of lymphocytic enteritis. We screened 146 live healthy marmosets in the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center colony and found 34% (50/146) of the animals were infected. SOBV was also present in 2 of 32 (6.25%) healthy marmosets from the New England Primate Research Center. These findings have implications for animal studies in which infection-free animals are desired, and they demonstrate the need for further investigations to increase understanding of this genus of viruses.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.