Visceral leishmaniasis in an infant gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla): Clinical signs, diagnosis, and successful treatment with single-dose liposomal amphotericin B.

A 2-year-old captive gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) was diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil, and treated with a single dose of liposomal amphotericin B, which resulted in clinical cure. This is the first report of visceral leishmaniasis in gorillas, and the first reported liposomal amphotericin B treatment in great apes.

Assessment of the gorilla gut virome in association with natural simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) of chimpanzees and gorillas from Central Africa crossed the species barrier at least four times giving rise to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) groups M, N, O and P. The paradigm of non-pathogenic lentiviral infections has been challenged by observations of naturally infected chimpanzees with SIVcpz associated with a negative impact on their life span and reproduction, CD4+ T-lymphocyte loss and lymphoid tissue destruction. With the advent and dissemination of new generation sequencing technologies, novel promising markers of immune deficiency have been explored in human and nonhuman primate species, showing changes in the microbiome (dysbiosis) that might be associated with pathogenic conditions. The aim of the present study was to identify and compare enteric viromes of SIVgor-infected and uninfected gorillas using noninvasive sampling and ultradeep sequencing, and to assess the association of virome composition with potential SIVgor pathogenesis in their natural hosts. RESULTS: We analyzed both RNA and DNA virus libraries of 23 fecal samples from 11 SIVgor-infected (two samples from one animal) and 11 uninfected western lowland gorillas from Campo-Ma'an National Park (CP), in southwestern Cameroon. Three bacteriophage families (Siphoviridae, Myoviridae and Podoviridae) represented 67.5 and 68% of the total annotated reads in SIVgor-infected and uninfected individuals, respectively. Conversely, mammalian viral families, such as Herpesviridae and Reoviridae, previously associated with gut- and several mammalian diseases were significantly more abundant (p < 0.003) in the SIVgor-infected group. In the present study, we analyzed, for the first time, the enteric virome of gorillas and their association with SIVgor status. This also provided the first evidence of association of specific mammalian viral families and SIVgor in a putative dysbiosis context. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that viromes might be potentially used as markers of lentiviral disease progression in wild gorilla populations. The diverse mammalian viral families, herein described in SIVgor-infected gorillas, may play a pivotal role in a disease progression still unclear in these animals but already well characterized in pathogenic lentiviral infections in other organisms. Larger sample sets should be further explored to reduce intrinsic sampling variation.

Rapid changes in the gut microbiome during human evolution.

Humans are ecosystems containing trillions of microorganisms, but the evolutionary history of this microbiome is obscured by a lack of knowledge about microbiomes of African apes. We sequenced the gut communities of hundreds of chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas and developed a phylogenetic approach to reconstruct how present-day human microbiomes have diverged from those of ancestral populations. Compositional change in the microbiome was slow and clock-like during African ape diversification, but human microbiomes have deviated from the ancestral state at an accelerated rate. Relative to the microbiomes of wild apes, human microbiomes have lost ancestral microbial diversity while becoming specialized for animal-based diets. Individual wild apes cultivate more phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species of bacteria than do individual humans across a range of societies. These results indicate that humanity has experienced a depletion of the gut flora since diverging from Pan.

Pathological Findings in a Captive Senile Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) With Chronic Renal Failure and Septic Polyarthritis

A case of chronic renal failure associated with septic polyarthritis affecting a 39-year-old male Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is described. The gorilla developed a chronic interstitial nephritis associated with severe diffuse renal fibrosis, which was associated with several extra-renal uremic lesions, including uremic pneumopathy and gastropathy. Several joints presented gross and microscopic changes compatible with chronic active arthritis and athrosis, which were associated with inflammation of adjacent soft tissues. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from sites of phlegmon and cellulitis, whereas Enterobacter sp. and Proteus mirabilis were cultured from osteoarticular lesions. Additional conditions, including testicular atrophy and leydigocytoma, a large cell lung carcinoma, calcinosis circunscripta, among others, have also been diagnosed in this senile gorilla.(AU)

Pathological Findings in a Captive Senile Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) With Chronic Renal Failure and Septic Polyarthritis

A case of chronic renal failure associated with septic polyarthritis affecting a 39-year-old male Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is described. The gorilla developed a chronic interstitial nephritis associated with severe diffuse renal fibrosis, which was associated with several extra-renal uremic lesions, including uremic pneumopathy and gastropathy. Several joints presented gross and microscopic changes compatible with chronic active arthritis and athrosis, which were associated with inflammation of adjacent soft tissues. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from sites of phlegmon and cellulitis, whereas Enterobacter sp. and Proteus mirabilis were cultured from osteoarticular lesions. Additional conditions, including testicular atrophy and leydigocytoma, a large cell lung carcinoma, calcinosis circunscripta, among others, have also been diagnosed in this senile gorilla.

Morphology and DNA quantitation of human and great ape spermatozoa.

A comparative study of human and great ape spermatozoa was carried out with the purpose of looking at spermatozoal morphology and DNA content in man's closest living relatives. This study showed that man and the gorilla are unique among mammals in normally exhibiting a remarkable morphological pleiomorphism in the ejaculate. The modal cell types in the ejaculates of these two species were morphologically identical. The less frequent cell types, defined as morphologically abnormal spermatozoa, were also very similar, and occurred in similar proportions. Thus, it was impossible to distinguish between man and the gorilla by a simple examination of the ejaculate, although it is possible to distinguish between man and the chimpanzees, between the gorilla and the chimpanzees or between the orangutan and man. Both species of chimpanzees produced identical spermatozoa. DNA estimations showed that man and the gorilla produce a similarly low proportion of diploid spermatozoa. Morphological pleiomorphism in man was not positively correlated with a higher variation of DNA content than that observed in the chimpanzees and the organutan. In the gorilla, however, a significantly higher variability in DNA content was observed.