Genetic Characterization of Eight Full-Length HIV Type 1 Genomes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Reveal a New Subsubtype, A5, in the A Radiation That Predominates in the Recombinant Structure of CRF26_A5U

摘要

In this study, we characterized HIV-1 strains from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), previously described as divergent subtype A (n=1, 97CD.KMST91) or untypable (n=7) in the V3–V5 env region. Four strains had the same structure over the entire genome, including alternating fragments of a new subsubtype, A5, within the subtype A radiation and fragments that remain unclassified. Therefore, the cluster of new viruses represents a new circulating recombinant, CRF26_A5U. Three additional strains were unique recombinants with the newly described CRF26_A5U and subtype C. Finally, the nearly full-length sequence of 97CD.KMST91 showed that this strain also consisted of alternating fragments of a divergent subtype A lineage and unclassified fragments, although different from previously reported A and U sequences. The high genetic distances among the different CRF26-A5U strains suggest their longstanding presence in the DRC.