Mitogenomic phylogeny of the Asian colobine genus Trachypithecus with special focus on Trachypithecus phayrei(Blyth, 1847) and description of a new species

Trachypithecus,which currently contains 20 species divided into four groups,is the most speciose and geographically dispersed genus among Asian colobines.Despite several morphological and molecular studies,however,its evolutionary history and phylogeography remain poorly understood.Phayre’s langur(Trachypithecus phayrei) is one of the most widespread members of the genus,but details on its actual distribution and intraspecific taxonomy are limited and controversial.Thus,to elucidate the evolutionary history of Trachypithecus and to clarify the intraspecific taxonomy and distribution of T.phayrei,we sequenced 41 mitochondrial genomes from georeferenced fecal samples and museum specimens,including two holotypes.Phylogenetic analyses revealed a robustly supported phylogeny of Trachypithecus,suggesting that the T.pileatus group branched first,followed by the T.francoisi group,and the T.cristatus and T.obscurus groups most recently.The four species groups diverged from each other 4.5-3.1 million years ago(Ma),while speciation events within these groups occurred much more recently(1.6-0.3 Ma).Within T.phayrei,we found three clades that diverged 1.0-0.9 Ma,indicating the existence of three rather than two taxa.Following the phylogenetic species concept and based on genetic,morphological,and ecological differences,we elevate the T.phayrei subspecies to species level,describe a new species from central Myanmar,and refine the distribution of the three taxa.Overall,our study highlights the importance of museum specimens and provides new insights not only into the evolutionary history of T.phayrei but the entire Trachypithecus genus as well.

Initiation of the Primate Genome Project

A crucial step for understanding human evolution is to identify the genomic changes that occurred during primate evolution,thus allowing investigators to reconstruct the ancestral states preceding the human condition.In the past several decades,the primate clade has been a research focus in genome sequencing due to its unique phylogenetic position and key importance.

Global view on virus infection in non-human primates and implications for public health and wildlife conservation

Viruses can be transmitted from animals to humans(and vice versa)and across animal species.As such,host-virus interactions and transmission have attracted considerable attention.Non-human primates(NHPs),our closest evolutionary relatives,are susceptible to human viruses and certain pathogens are known to circulate between humans and NHPs.Here,we generated global statistics on virus infections in NHPs(VI-NHPs)based on a literature search and public data mining.In total,140 NHP species from 12 families are reported to be infected by 186 DNA and RNA virus species,68.8%of which are also found in humans,indicating high potential for crossing species boundaries.