Molecular dynamics and mode of transmission of Koala Retrovirus as it invades and spreads through a wild Queensland koala population

The recent acquisition of a novel retrovirus (KoRV) by koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) has created new opportunities for retroviral research and new challenges for koala conservation. There are currently two major subtypes of KoRV; KoRV-A, which is believed to be endogenous only in koalas from the northern part of Australia, and KoRV-B, which appears to be exogenous. Understanding and management of these subtypes requires population-level studies of their prevalence and diversity, especially when co-infected in the same population, and investigations of their modes of transmission in the wild. Towards this end, we studied a wild Queensland koala population of 290 animals over a five year period and investigated the prevalence, diversity and mode of transmission of KoRV-A and KoRV-B. We found KoRV-A to have an infection level of 100% in the population, with all animals sharing the same dominant envelope gene protein sequence. By comparison, the KoRV-B infection prevalence was only 24%, with 21 different envelope protein sequence variants found in the 83 KoRV-B positive animals. Linked to severe disease outcomes, a significant association between KoRV-B positivity and both chlamydial disease and neoplasia was found in the population. Transmission of KoRV-B was found at a rate of 3% via adult-to-adult contact per year, while there was a 100% rate of KoRV-B positive mothers transmitting the virus to their joeys. Collectively, these findings demonstrate KoRV-B as the pathogenic subtype in this wild koala population and inform future intervention strategies with subtype variation and transmission data