title: CRF45_AKU, a circulating recombinant from Central Africa, is probably the common ancestor of HIV type 1 MAL and HIV type 1 NOGIL.
abstract: Abstract In this study, we characterized four HIV-1 strains from Cameroon, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), collected during independent serosurveys, and previously found to cluster in the pol gene with HIV-1 MAL and HIV-1 NOGIL3, two complex recombinant viruses reported in the early HIV epidemic, and with the recombinant strain 04FR.AUK recently described in France. The four newly sequenced viruses shared the same structure as 04FR.AUK, involving alternating fragments of subtype A, K, and unclassified (U) fragments, representing a new CRF called CRF45_AKU. Some of the unclassified fragments were related to unclassified regions described in either CRF04 or CRF09 strains. Careful reanalysis of HIV-1 MAL and HIV-1 NOGIL3 demonstrated that these strains were related exclusively to CRF45_AKU and either two subtype D fragments for HIV-1 MAL or one subtype H segment for HIV-1 NOGIL3. Following extensive blast searches, related gag, pol, and env sequences were observed in Central and West Africa (Senegal, Mali), as well as in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Cyprus), Argentina, and China.
authors.affiliation: UMR145, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) and University of Montpellier I (UMI), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Fabien R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Niama
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Samuel Edidi
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Bazepeo
authors.forename: Eitel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mpoudi
authors.forename: Coumba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toure-Kane
authors.forename: Henri J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delaporte
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D005681:Gabon / Q000453:epidemiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA