Mixing It Up: New Insights Into Interspecies Recombination Between Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and 2.

Abstract

Herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) are closely related alphaherpesviruses, with more than 80% identity at the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence level [1]. More than two thirds of the world’s population is estimated to have been infected with one or both viruses. The divergence of the common ancestor to these viruses is thought to have coincided with the separation of the human and chimpanzee lineages approximately 6 million years ago, leading to separate evolution of HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively. Zoonotic transmission of HSV-2 to an extinct early hominid occurred approximately one and a half million years ago [2]. No other primate species are known to serve as common hosts for 2 distinct herpes simplex species.