title: The Two-Phase Emergence of Non Pandemic HIV-1 Group O in Cameroon.
abstract: Unlike the pandemic form of HIV-1 (group M), group O viruses are endemic in west central Africa, especially in Cameroon. However, little is known about group O's genetic evolution, and why this highly divergent lineage has not become pandemic. Using a unique and large set of group O sequences from samples collected from 1987 to 2012, we find that this lineage has evolved in successive slow and fast phases of diversification, with a most recent common ancestor estimated to have existed around 1930 (1914-1944). The most rapid periods of diversification occurred in the 1950s and in the 1980s, and could be linked to favourable epidemiological contexts in Cameroon. Group O genetic diversity reflects this two-phase evolution, with two distinct populations potentially having different viral properties. The currently predominant viral population emerged in the 1980s, from an ancient population which had first developed in the 1950s, and is characterized by higher growth and evolutionary rates, and the natural presence of the Y181C resistance mutation, thought to confer a phenotypic advantage. Our findings show that although this evolutionary pattern is specific to HIV-1 group O, it paralleled the early spread of HIV-1 group M in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both viral lineages are likely to have benefited from similar epidemiological contexts. The relative role of virological and social factors in the distinct epidemic histories of HIV-1 group O and M needs to be reassessed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France; EA 2656 GRAM, Université de Rouen, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leoz
authors.affiliation: Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feyertag
authors.affiliation: Service de Virologie, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroun.
authors.forename: Anfumbom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kfutwah
authors.affiliation: Service de Virologie, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroun; Direction Interarmées du Service de Santé, Nouméa, Nouvelle Calédonie.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mauclère
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire SPHERE, UMR 7219, Université Paris Diderot & Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lachenal
authors.affiliation: Service de Virologie, APHP CHU Bichat Claude Bernard, Faculté de Médecine Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Damond
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Oliveira
authors.affiliation: EA 2656 GRAM, Université de Rouen, Rouen, France; Laboratoire associé au Centre National de Référence du VIH, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lemée
authors.affiliation: Service de Microbiologie, APHP CHU Saint Louis, Faculté de Médecine Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France; EA 2656 GRAM, Université de Rouen, Rouen, France; Laboratoire associé au Centre National de Référence du VIH, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Plantier
mesh_terms: D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction