title: Full-length genome sequences of five hepatitis C virus isolates representing subtypes 3g, 3h, 3i and 3k, and a unique genotype 3 variant.
abstract: We characterized the full-length genomes of five distinct hepatitis C virus (HCV)-3 isolates. These represent the first complete genomes for subtypes 3g and 3h, the second such genomes for 3k and 3i, and of one novel variant presently not assigned to a subtype. Each genome was determined from 18-25 overlapping fragments. They had lengths of 9579-9660 nt and each contained a single ORF encoding 3020-3025 aa. They were isolated from five patients residing in Canada; four were of Asian origin and one was of Somali origin. Phylogenetic analysis using 64 partial NS5B sequences differentiated 10 assigned subtypes, 3a-3i and 3k, and two additional lineages within genotype 3. From the data of this study, HCV-3 full-length sequences are now available for six of the assigned subtypes and one unassigned. Our findings should add insights to HCV evolutionary studies and clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.|The Viral Oncology Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.|The Viral Oncology Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510089, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Teng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Tochigi-Ken 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny