title: Defining the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmission genetic bottleneck in a region with multiple circulating subtypes and recombinant forms.
abstract: The Mbeya region of Tanzania has a genetically complex HIV epidemic with multiple subtypes and recombinant forms circulating, together with a high frequency of dual infections with more than one subtype. This study aimed to determine whether this impacted the HIV-1 transmission bottleneck. A total of 210 env sequences from 22 participants were generated from recently infected women from Mbeya using the single genome amplification approach. Participants were infected with subtypes C (n=9), A (n=4), or D (n=1), and recombinants AC (n=4), CD (n=2), AD (n=1), or ACD (n=1). Sixteen participants (73%) were infected with a single variant; five (23%) with multiple variants; and one (4%) was dually infected. Thus the frequency of single variant infections was similar to cohorts located in genetically restricted subtype B or C epidemics, suggesting that multiple circulating subtypes and unique recombinant forms do not have a significant impact on the transmission bottleneck.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory 7925, South Africa.
authors.forename: Andile
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nofemela
authors.forename: Gama
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bandawe
authors.forename: Ruwayhida
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thebus
authors.forename: Jinny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marais
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maboko
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoelscher
authors.forename: Zenda
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Woodman
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williamson
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology