On the phylogenetic placement of human T cell leukemia virus type 1 sequences associated with an Andean mummy.

ABSTRACT: Recently, the putative finding of ancient human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR) DNA sequences in association with a 1500-year-old Chilean mummy has stirred vigorous debate. The debate is based partly on the inherent uncertainties associated with phylogenetic reconstruction when only short sequences of closely related genotypes are available. However, a full analysis of what phylogenetic information is present in the mummy data has not previously been published, leaving open the question of what precisely is the range of admissible interpretation. To fulfill this need, we re-analyzed the mummy data in a new way. We first performed phylogenetic analysis of 188 published LTR DNA sequences from extant strains belonging to the HTLV-1 Cosmopolitan clade, using th

SUBMITTER: Coulthart MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1983367 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature