Identification of a novel HIV Type 1 circulating recombinant form (CRF65-cpx) composed of CRF01-AE and subtypes B and C in Western Yunnan, China

摘要

A novel HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF) designated CRF65-cpx was recently characterized from three epidemiologically unlinked individuals infected through heterosexual contact in western Yunnan province of China. This is the first complex mosaic HIV-1 CRF, consisting of contributions from three or more different subtypes, identified in China. An additional full-length genome sequence with identical recombinant breakpoints was found among a previously reported recombinant strain from a man who had sex with a man in Anhui province of East Central China. The breakpoint analysis of the recombinants showed a complex genome organization composed of parental subtypes B′ (Thailand variant of subtype B), C, and CRF01-AE, with 13 recombination breakpoints observed in almost all structure genes of HIV-1. The generation of complex recombinant forms is likely due to cocirculation of multiple lineages of HIV-1 strains in high-risk populations in western Yunnan.