Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes and subgenotypes may vary in geographical distribution and virological features. Previous investigations, including ours, showed that HBV genotypes B and C were respectively predominant in South and North China, while genotypes A and D were infrequently detected and genotype G was not found. In this study, a novel A/C/G intergenotype was identified in patients with chronic HBV infection in Guilin, a city in southern China. Initial phylogenetic analysis based on the S gene suggested the HBV recombinant to be genotype G. However, extended genotyping based on the entire HBV genome indicated it to be an A/C/G intergenotype with a closer relation to genotype C. Breakpoint analysis using the SIMPLOT program revealed that the recombinant had a recombination with a arrangement of genotypes A, G, A and C fragments. Compared with the HBV recombinants harboring one or two genotype G fragments found in Asian countries, this Guilin recombinant was highly similar to the Vietnam (98–99%) and Long An recombinants (96–99%), but had a relatively low similarity to the Thailand one (89%). Unlike those with the typical genotype G of HBV, the patients with the Guilin recombinant were seropositive for HBeAg. Moreover, a relatively high HBV DNA viral load (>2×106 IU/ml) was detected in the patients, and the analysis of viral replication capacity showed that the Guilin recombinant strains had a competent replication capacity similar to genotypes B and C strains. These findings can aid in not only the clarification of the phylogenetic origin of the HBV recombinants with the genotype G fragment found in Asian countries, but also the understanding of the virological properties of these complicated HBV recombinants.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Institute of Infectious Diseases/Liver Failure Medical Center, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing, China;Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Institute of Infectious Diseases/Liver Failure Medical Center, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing, China;Division of Hepatology, The Third People’s Hospital of Guilin, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Division of Hepatology, The Third People’s Hospital of Guilin, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Guangxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine in Liver Injury and Repair, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China;Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Institute of Infectious Diseases/Liver Failure Medical Center, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing, China;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China
Recommended Citation:
Heling Su,Yan Liu,Zhihui Xu,et al. A Novel Complex A/C/G Intergenotypic Recombinant of Hepatitis B Virus Isolated in Southern China[J]. PLOS ONE,2014-01-01,9(1)