The research shows that filoviruses — a family to which Ebola and its similarly lethal relative, Marburg, belong — are at least 16-23 million years old.
Filo viruses likely existed in the Miocene Epoch, and at that time, the evolutionary lines leading to Ebola and Marburg had already diverged, the study concludes.
“Filoviruses are far more ancient than previously thought,” says lead researcher Derek Taylor, , a University at Buffalo professor of biological sciences. “These things have been interacting with mammals for a long time, several million years.”
Instead, it shows that Ebola and Marburg are each members of ancient evolutionary lines, and that these two viruses last shared a common ancestor sometime prior to 16-23 million years ago.
The first Ebola outbreak in humans occurred in 1976, and scientists still know little about the virus’ history.
Scientists say knowing more about Ebola and Marburg’s comparative evolution could “affect design of vaccines and programs that identify emerging pathogens.”
