title: Diverse BF recombinants have spread widely since the introduction of HIV-1 into South America.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the genetic diversity of HIV-1 in South America by full genome sequencing and analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Purified peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA from HIV-infected individuals in Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia was used to amplify full HIV-1 genomes. These were sequenced using the ABI 3100 automated sequencer and phylogenetically analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one HIV-1 strains from three South American countries, 17 of which were pre-screened by envelope heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA), were studied. Ten out of 10 HMA subtype F and four out of seven HMA subtype B strains were actually BF recombinants upon full genome analysis. Two BF recombinants from Argentina and two from Uruguay had the same structure, representing a new circulating recombinant form termed CRF12_BF(ARMA159). Twelve other BF recombinants had structures related to CRF12 but with additional segments of subtype B; each was unique. BF recombinants were temporally and geographically widespread, found as early as 1986-1987 in vertically infected Argentinian children and in Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia.
authors.affiliation: Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. jcarr@hivresearch.org
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomez Carrillo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salomon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hierholzer
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Watanaveeradej
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pando
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Negrete
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Birx
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vinoles
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: McCutchan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D020180:Heteroduplex Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology