title: Molecular characterization of hepatitis B virus genotype A from Argentina and Brazil.
abstract: To study the diversification of hepatitis B virus genotype A in Latin America, we analyzed seven new Argentinian isolates and published sequences from Argentina and Brazil and other countries from the region. We found that the European subgenotype A2 prevailed in most of the countries except for Brazil, where the African subgenotype A1 predominated. A2 isolates did not differ significantly from the GenBank sequences, whereas some A1 isolates carried, concomitantly, amino acids characteristic of the subgenotypes A3 (R(501) in P protein) and A2 (D(355) in P/T(54) in preS2). This combination is absent in the A1 subgenotype around the world. We discuss the origin, distribution and introduction of those subgenotypes in the Americas.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956 4 masculine piso, C1113AAB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. vmbayed@ffyb.uba.ar
authors.forename: Viviana Andrea
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Mbayed
authors.forename: Flavia Guadalupe
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Piñeiro y Leone
authors.forename: Silvana Claudia
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pezzano
authors.forename: Rodolfo Héctor
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Campos
mesh_terms: D001118:Argentina; D001938:Brazil; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000821:virology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral