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Variation in predicted COVID‐19 risk among lemurs and lorises
Author(s) -
Melin Amanda D.,
Orkin Joseph D.,
Janiak Mareike C.,
Valenzuela Alejandro,
Kuderna Lukas,
Marrone Frank,
Ramangason Hasinala,
Horvath Julie E.,
Roos Christian,
Kitchener Andrew C.,
Khor Chiea Chuen,
Lim Weng Khong,
Lee Jessica G. H.,
Tan Patrick,
Umapathy Govindhaswamy,
Raveendran Muthuswamy,
Alan Harris R.,
Gut Ivo,
Gut Marta,
Lizano Esther,
Nadler Tilo,
Zinner Dietmar,
Le Minh D.,
Manu Sivakumara,
Rabarivola Clément J.,
Zaramody Alphonse,
Andriaholiniriicole,
Johnson Steig E.,
Jarvis Erich D.,
Fedrigo Olivier,
Wu Dongdong,
Zhang Guojie,
Farh Kyle KaiHow,
Rogers Jeffrey,
MarquesBonet Tomas,
Navarro Arcadi,
Juan David,
Arora Paramjit S.,
Higham James P.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.23255
Subject(s) - lemur , biology , primate , clade , endangered species , zoology , genetic variation , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , genetics , ecology , gene , habitat
The novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, which in humans leads to the disease COVID‐19, has caused global disruption and more than 2 million fatalities since it first emerged in late 2019. As we write, infection rates are at their highest point globally and are rising extremely rapidly in some areas due to more infectious variants. The primary target of SARS‐CoV‐2 is the cellular receptor angiotensin‐converting enzyme‐2 (ACE2). Recent sequence analyses of the ACE2 gene predict that many nonhuman primates are also likely to be highly susceptible to infection. However, the anticipated risk is not equal across the Order. Furthermore, some taxonomic groups show high ACE2 amino acid conservation, while others exhibit high variability at this locus. As an example of the latter, analyses of strepsirrhine primate ACE2 sequences to date indicate large variation among lemurs and lorises compared to other primate clades despite low sampling effort. Here, we report ACE2 gene and protein sequences for 71 individual strepsirrhines, spanning 51 species and 19 genera. Our study reinforces previous results while finding additional variability in other strepsirrhine species, and suggests several clades of lemurs have high potential susceptibility to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Troublingly, some species, including the rare and endangered aye‐aye ( Daubentonia madagascariensis ), as well as those in the genera Avahi and Propithecus , may be at high risk. Given that lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and among the primates at highest risk of extinction globally, further understanding of the potential threat of COVID‐19 to their health should be a conservation priority. All feasible actions should be taken to limit their exposure to SARS‐CoV‐2.