Early-life infection dynamics and genomic diversity of adenoviruses in a wild primate (Theropithecus gelada)

Research on geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in Simien National Park, Ethiopia, reveals that simian adenovirus (SAdV) infections peak in infants under six months old, contrary to expectations of higher transmission risk during close-contact play behaviors. The study identified ten coding-complete SAdV genomes, including four new species, by analyzing longitudinal fecal samples from known individuals. It found that SAdV likelihood and richness decline with age, with very few adults infected, suggesting early-life exposure may confer lifelong immunity. Higher minimum temperatures were weakly but significantly associated with lower SAdV richness. This challenges the assumption of human-like AdV dynamics in primates, highlighting potential differences in transmission pathways and immune responses.

Saroff, M. J., Haile, A. A., Baniel, A., Kraberger, S., Regney, M., Harrach, B., Kaján, G. L., Lu, A., Beehner, J. C., Bergman, T. J., Snyder-Mackler, N., Varsani, A., & Schneider-Crease, I. A. (2025). Early-life infection dynamics and genomic diversity of adenoviruses in a wild primate (Theropithecus gelada). Microbial Genomics, 11(12). https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001595