Identification of the Near Full-Length Genome of a Novel HIV-1 CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC Recombinant in Hebei Province, China

To analyze the genetic structure and recombination characteristics of a newly discovered HIV-1 unique recombinant form (URF) isolated in Hebei Province, China, viral RNA was extracted from the plasma sample of the infected individual and reverse transcribed to cDNA. Two overlapping segments of the HIV-1 genome were amplified using a near-endpoint dilution method. Recombinant breakpoints were determined using RIP, jpHMM, and SimPlot 3.5.1 software. MEGA 6.0 software was used to construct a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree. The near full-length genome sequence (8,862 bp) of a recombinant of CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC was obtained. The genome comprised at least seven overlapping segments, including four CRF01_AE and three CRF07_BC segments, with CRF01_AE as the backbone. A URF virus between CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC was amplified and characterized in this study. Parental viruses were homologous with HIV-1 strains prevalent among men who have sex with men in northern China and may originate from sexual transmission of local HIV-1 strains in Hebei Province.