Molecular cloning and phylogenetic analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype C: a set of 23 full-length clones from Botswana.
To better understand the virological aspect of the expanding AIDS epidemic in southern Africa, a set of 23 near-full-length clones of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) representing eight AIDS patients from Botswana were sequenced and analyzed phylogenetically. All study viruses from Botswana belonged to HIV-1 subtype C. The interpatient diversity of the clones from Botswana was higher than among full-length isolates of subtype B or among a set of full-length HIV-1 genomes of subtype C from India (mean value of 9. 1% versus 6.5 and 4.3%, respectively; P < 0.0001 for both comparisons). Similar results were observed in all genes across the entire viral genome. We suggest that the high level of HIV-1 diversity might be a typical feature of the subtype C epidemic in southern Africa. The reason or reasons for this diversity are unclear, but may include an altered replication efficiency of HIV-1 subtype C and/or the multiple introduction of different subtype C viruses.
Novitsky
V A
VA
Harvard AIDS Institute, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Montano
M A
MA
McLane
M F
MF
Renjifo
B
B
Vannberg
F
F
Foley
B T
BT
Ndung'u
T P
TP
Rahman
M
M
Makhema
M J
MJ
Marlink
R
R
Essex
M
M
D001483:Base Sequence; D001902:Botswana / Q000453:epidemiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
D004279:DNA, Viral