6533b827fe1ef96bd1286730

RESEARCH PRODUCT

A new subtype of hepatitis C virus genotype 1: complete genome and phylogenetic relationships of an Equatorial Guinea isolate.

Andrés MoyaMaría Alma BrachoFrancy Yolima Carrillo-cruzFernando González-candelasEnrique Ortega

subject

GenotypeMolecular Sequence DataGenome ViralHepacivirusBiologyGenomechemistry.chemical_compoundPhylogeneticsVirologyGenotypeCoding regionHumansGeneNS5BPhylogenyWhole genome sequencingGeneticsPhylogenetic treevirus diseasesSequence Analysis DNAVirologyHepatitis Cdigestive system diseaseschemistryDNA ViralEquatorial Guinea

description

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. However, there have been few studies on the distribution and genetic diversity of HCV isolates in non-developed countries. Here, the complete genome sequence of an HCV genotype 1 isolate from Equatorial Guinea is reported, the first complete HCV-1 genome of African origin. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this sequence always grouped with sequences of genotype 1, but did not group clearly with any subtype described so far. An analysis of partial NS5B gene sequences with additional sequences of African origin also failed to find close similarities between the new sequence and any previously known isolate. Genetic divergence of the coding region of this new sequence with respect to the recognized subtypes of HCV-1 ranged from 20 to 22 %. It is proposed that this isolate is a representative of a new, distinct variant of HCV subtype 1.

10.1099/vir.0.81666-0https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16690936