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Brief Communications

Nature 444, 164 (9 November 2006) | doi:10.1038/444164a; Received 31 August 2006; Accepted 24 October 2006; Published online 8 November 2006

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Human immunodeficiency viruses: SIV infection in wild gorillas

Fran Van Heuverswyn1, Yingying Li2, Cecile Neel1,3, Elizabeth Bailes4, Brandon F. Keele2, Weimin Liu2, Severin Loul3, Christelle Butel1, Florian Liegeois1, Yanga Bienvenue3, Eitel Mpoudi Ngolle3, Paul M. Sharp4, George M. Shaw2,5, Eric Delaporte1,6, Beatrice H. Hahn2 & Martine Peeters1

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Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from west central Africa are recognized as the reservoir of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVcpzPtt) that have crossed at least twice to humans: this resulted in the AIDS pandemic (from human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 group M) in one instance and infection of just a few individuals in Cameroon (by HIV-1 group N) in another1. A third HIV-1 lineage (group O) from west central Africa also falls within the SIVcpzPtt radiation2, but the primate reservoir of this virus has not been identified1. Here we report the discovery of HIV-1 group O-like viruses in wild gorillas.