Scientific publications
Charlotte Ngansop
Dora Mbanya
Ka‐Cheung Luk
Other affiliations: Abbott Fund
Vera Holzmayer
Julie Yamaguchi
Priscilla Swanson
Catherine A. Brennan
Sushil G. Devare
John Hackett
Hermine Gayum
Marcelline Ngounoue Djuidje
Nicaise Ndembi
Donatien Kamdem Toukam
Lazare Kaptué
Lutz Gürtler
Other affiliations: Universitätsmedizin Greifswald
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
Recombinant forms of HIV-1 contribute significantly to the ongoing epidemic. In the present study, we characterized the near full-length genomes of three candidate HIV-1 CRF13_cpx strains originating in Cameroon, 04CM-173-9, 04CM-632-28, and 02CM-A1394. Bootscanning, recombination breakpoint analysis, and phylogenetic trees confirmed similar genomic structures with identical breakpoint positions compared to the three available CRF13_cpx sequences. The candidate and reference sequences formed a distinct cluster well separated from other group M subtypes and had a mosaic structure derived from subtypes A1, G, J, and CRF01_AE. The similarity in genomic composition and position of recombination breakpoints suggest that these isolates share a common ancestor. The epidemiological significance of CRF13_cpx strains in Cameroon is unknown; however, the availability of three additional genomic sequences will improve our understanding of the overall genetic diversity within this recombinant form of HIV-1.
