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278 Re-Analysis of the HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant A/E (CRF01_AE): Evidence of A/E/G Recombination
G. Magiorkinis1, D. Paraskevis*1, M. Magiorkinis1, A.-M. Vandamme2, and A. Hatzakis1
1 Univ. Med. Sch., Athens, Greece and 2 Katholieke Univ., Leuven, Belgium
Background: CRF01_AE, which was initially designated as subtype E, has caused an extensive HIV-1 epidemic in Southeastern Asia. These isolates have possibly originated from Central Africa.
Methods: The recombination pattern of 2 representative CRF01_AE sequences was re-analyzed by bootscanning plots. Subtype classification for each region was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis.
Results: The mosaic pattern of CRF01_AE sequences was found to be more complicated than initially described, consisting of subtypes A and G, as well as of unclassified regions. More specifically, the gag/pol, vif/vpr, vpu, the first exons of tat and rev, the 5-gp120, the intracellular region of gp41, the 3 terminus of the second exon of rev, and the 5-nef clustered with subtype A. Interestingly, the 5-gp41 including the second exons of tat and rev classified as subtype G. The rest of the genome did not cluster with any of the previous subtypes and possibly originated from “parental” subtype E, as previously suggested.
Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that the CRF01_AE are more complex recombinants than initially described, consisting of regions belonging to subtypes A, G as well as of unclassified regions called subtype E. The impact of the more complex mosaicism of the CRF01_AE on vaccine trials remains to be elucidated.
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