Identification and genomic characterization of a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) in Zhejiang Province, China

Mutation and recombination are important mechanisms leading to the frequent evolution and genetic diversity of viruses as HIV-1. In this study, we identified the near full-length genomic characterization of a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form (URF) strain (Sample ID: ZJ20202195/ZJ/CHN/2020, hereafter referred to as ZJ20202195) isolated during the HIV-1 molecular surveillance in 2020 in Zhejiang Province, China, through different recombination analysis tools and phylogenetic analysis. Our results amply proved that the near full-length genome (NFLG) sequence of ZJ20202195 was a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form (URF) consisting of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC subtype, and delimited three recombinant segments, of which the Segment I (HXB2:776–5559 nucleotide (nt)) and Segment III (HXB2:6224–9412 nt) were mainly originated from CRF01_AE cluster g4a strains prevalent in China and Segment II (HXB2:5560–6223 nt) was from CRF07_BC subtype. Overall, our findings provide insight and a scientific basis in the genetic diversity and accurate determination of HIV-1 recombinant strains in China.