Identification of two Novel HIV-1 Second-generation Recombinant Forms (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) in Hebei, China.

Abstract

Homosexual contact is one of the main transmission routes of HIV-1 epidemic in Hebei, China. Several subtypes of HIV are prevalent simultaneously in the population, which always leads to the emergency of unique recombinant forms (URFs). Here we reported two new URFs from two HIV-1 positive subjects infected through homosexual contact route in Hebei, China. Phylogenetic and recombinant analyses based on the near full-Length genome (NFLG) of the two URFs both revealed the two URFs are the second generation of recombinant strains originated from CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC. The CRF01_AE segments of two URFs lacated in cluster 4 of CRF01_AE strains in the phylogenetic tree. The emergence of the novel CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC recombinant forms with complicated genomic structures indicated the importance of the continuous monitoring of the HIV-1 epidemic and new URFs among the MSM populations.