Elsevier

Virology

Volume 482, August 2015, Pages 111-116
Virology

The full-length genome sequences of nine HCV genotype 4 variants representing a new subtype 4s and eight unclassified lineages

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2015.03.038Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Highlights

  • We characterized nine full-length genomes of HCV-4.

  • They confirmed one new subtype 4s and eight unassigned lineages at the subtype level.

  • We also reanalyzed many partial HCV-4 sequences from Genbank.

  • They differentiated 52 lineages at the subtype level.

  • They indicate an ancestral origin of HCV-4 in Africa.

Abstract

We characterized the full-length genomes for nine novel variants of HCV genotype 4 (HCV-4), representing a new subtype 4s and eight unclassified lineages. They were obtained from patients who resided in Canada but all had origins in Africa. An extended maximum clade credibility (MCC) tree was reconstructed after the inclusion of 30 reference sequences. It differentiated 18 assigned subtypes and 10 unclassified lineages within HCV-4. Similar analysis of 102 partial NS5B sequences resulted in another MCC tree that revealed 22 assigned subtypes (4a–4t, 4w, and 4v) and 30 unclassified lineages at the subtype level. Our study shows that HCV-4 is taxonomically complex and it displays high genetic diversity to support an African origin.

Keywords

HCV
Full-length genome
Genotype 4
Sequence

Cited by (0)