Genomic Characterization of a New HIV-1 CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC Recombinant Virus Form in Guizhou in Southwest China.

A novel HIV-1 second-generation recombinant form (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) was isolated from an HIV-positive subject among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guizhou province in Southwest China. Recombinant analyses of the near full-length genome (NFLG) suggested that the strain was composed of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC with one region of CRF07-BC inserted into a CRF01-AE backbone. Further analysis indicated that the CRF01_AE regions of the recombinant were highly clustered together with a subcluster 4 lineage of CRF01_AE, which is exclusively circulating among MSM in China. The CRF07_BC region of the recombinant was clustered with the CRF07_BC cluster which was identified among MSM. The emergence of the novel HIV-1 recombinant may be a harbinger of more novel inter-subtypes recombinants occurring in Guizhou Province in southwest China, and was of great important in understanding the dynamics and complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic in this region.