title: Identification and characterization of a natural inter-genotypic (2b/1b) recombinant hepatitis C virus in Japan.
abstract: A hepatitis C virus (HCV) strain (HC10-0804) recovered from a 12-year-old Japanese female with chronic hepatitis C segregated into discordant genotypes, 2b and 1b, in the 5'UTR/core and NS5B regions, respectively, thus suggesting an inter-genotypic recombination. The HC10-0804 isolate had a genomic length of 9,423 nucleotides (nt), excluding the poly(U) tract at the 3' terminus, and encoded a single open reading frame (ORF) for a polyprotein of 3,014 amino acids (aa). Based on Simplot and Bootscan analyses, the crossover point from 2b to 1b was estimated at nt 3443/3444 (aa 1034/1035), just after the beginning of the NS3 region. Comparison of the entire genomic sequence showed that the HC10-0804 strain was only 90.2% identical to the previously reported 2b/1b recombinant strain (SE-03-07-1689) from the Philippines, whose putative crossover point was 24 nt downstream of that of HC10-0804. These results indicate the circulation of a novel inter-genotypic (2b/1b) recombinant HCV in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishizawa
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.forename: Suljid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jirintai
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yotsumoto
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Mariko Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Momoi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016865:Reassortant Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors