Phylogenomic characterization of California sea lion adenovirus-1

• CSLAdV-1 has the classic genomic structure of a Mastadenovirus.
• The genome of this virus shows AT bias (36% GC content).
• CSLAdV-1 is near the base of the mastadenovirus clade corresponding with laurasiatherian mammals.
• A tanglegram suggests that this virus does not follow a pattern of co-evolution with its host.

Significant adenoviral diversity has been found in humans, but in domestic and wild animals the number of identified viruses is lower. Here we present the complete genome of a recently discovered mastadenovirus, California sea lion adenovirus 1 (CSLAdV-1) isolated from California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), an important pathogen associated with hepatitis in pinnipeds. The genome of this virus has the typical mastadenoviral structure with some notable differences at the carboxy-terminal end, including a dUTPase that does not cluster with other mastadenoviral dUTPases, and a fiber that shows similarity to a trans-sialidase of Trypanosoma cruzi and choline-binding protein A (CbpA) of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The GC content is low (36%), and phylogenetic analyses placed the virus near the root of the clade infecting laurasiatherian hosts in the genus Mastadenovirus. These findings support the hypothesis that CSLAdV-1 in California sea lions represents a host jump from an unknown mammalian host in which it is endemic.