Infectivity of an ancient hepatitis B virus cloned after retrieval from archaeological human remains

Background HBV evolution, diversity and phylogeographic history remain unclear. The successful retrieval of HBV DNA from archaeological human remains allows genotypic and phenotypic studies of HBV lineages over thousands of years. Aim of this study was to generate, clone and characterize the infectivity of a 1,160-years-old HBV isolate of genotype D (GT-D, DA222) in vitro and in vivo.