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Updated: Oct 4, 2026

Interview: HIV-1 Proviral DNA Excision Using an Evolved Recombinase
Published on: June 16, 2008
Diverse BF recombinants have spread widely since the introduction of HIV-1 into South America
J K Carr1, M Avila, M Gomez Carrillo
1Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. jcarr@hivresearch.org
Objective:
To describe the genetic diversity of HIV-1 in South America by full genome sequencing and analysis.
Methods:
Purified peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA from HIV-infected individuals in Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia was used to amplify full HIV-1 genomes. These were sequenced using the ABI 3100 automated sequencer and phylogenetically analysed.
Results:
Twenty-one HIV-1 strains from three South American countries, 17 of which were pre-screened by envelope heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA), were studied. Ten out of 10 HMA subtype F and four out of seven HMA subtype B strains were actually BF recombinants upon full genome analysis. Two BF recombinants from Argentina and two from Uruguay had the same structure, representing a new circulating recombinant form termed CRF12_BF(ARMA159). Twelve other BF recombinants had structures related to CRF12 but with additional segments of subtype B; each was unique. BF recombinants were temporally and geographically widespread, found as early as 1986-1987 in vertically infected Argentinian children and in Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia.
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