Characterization of a New HIV-1 CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC Recombinant Virus in Tianjin, China.

HIV is notorious for its rapid evolution since its transmissions from monkey to human. Currently, HIV contains multiple subtypes, circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinant forms (URFs). Here, from an HIV-positive mother and her child in Tianjin, China, we identified a novel HIV-1 second-generation recombinant virus (TJ20170316 and TJ20170317) between CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC. Near full-length genomes (NFLGs) were obtained from both samples, and they shared very close sequences, except some point mutations. Phylogenetic analyses of the NFLGs showed that they consist of CRF01_AE backbone and part CRF07_BC sequences. Recombinant Identification Program and Simplot software identified four breakpoints in gag, pol, vif, and tat genes in TJ20170316, totally different from other reported CRFs and URFs. The emergence of such URFs in Tianjin, China, highlights the complexity of HIV-1 epidemic and more measures should be taken to prevent HIV transmissions.