title: Genotyping of hepatitis B virus--genotypes a to g by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Eight genotypes (A-H) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are known with variations in nucleotide sequences greater than 8%. Several recent publications found that the clinical course and outcome of antiviral therapy depended on the genotype of the infecting HBV strain. Large epidemiological studies will require the availability of a system which is rapid, reliable and can be performed on a large number of samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  To establish a simple and accurate genotyping method, the study collected 369 HBV complete genomic sequences from the GenBank database. Type-specific primers were also designed that separated HBV genotypes A to G by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By comparison with the traditional restriction fragment length polymorphism method, over 93% of 441 samples were accurately genotyped by current assay, with a higher detection rate and sensitivity to detect mixed HBV infections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This methodology can be applied only to areas prevalent with HBV genotypes A to G. However, it provides an efficient alternative for clinical diagnosis and large-scale studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Mingdao University, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindh
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buti
authors.forename: Pham Hoang
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Phiet
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizokami
authors.forename: Hsi-Hsien
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Koun-Tem
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Kung-Chia
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Pin-Nan
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: I-Chin
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ting-Tsung
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000821:virology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers