Identification of the near full-length genome of a novel HIV-1 CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC recombinant in Hebei Province, China.

At present, CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC are the predominant intersubtype recombinants among sexually active populations, especially among men who have sex with men(MSM) in China. Here, we report a novel second-generation unique recombinant form(URF) of HIV-1 named BDD028A that was isolated from an HIV-1-positive man who was infected through homosexual transmission in Baoding City, Hebei Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on the near-full-length genome (NFLG) sequence indicated that BDD028A formed a monophyletic branch that did not cluster with other HIV-1 subtypes. Recombination analysis showed that the NFLG of BDD028A had seven segments, three CRF07_BC and four CRF01_AE segments, with CRF01_AE as the main framework. These findings indicate that the constant emergence of novel recombinant forms should receive more attention and that more measures should be taken to monitor the molecular epidemiological characteristics of HIV-1 and to prevent the spread of HIV-1 infections.