Identification of 3 phylogenetically related HIV-1 BG intersubtype circulating recombinant forms in Cuba

BG intersubtype recombinants represented 11.6% of HIV-1 isolates in a recent survey in Cuba based on pol sequences, most of them forming a single clade further subdivided into 3 subclades. Here, we analyze 8 near full-length genomes and 1 gag-pol sequence from epidemiologically unlinked Cuban BG recombinants from these 3 subclades (3 from each). Near full-length sequences were also obtained from 3 subtype G and 2 subtype B Cuban viruses. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated via maximum likelihood, and mosaic structures of the recombinants were inferred with the bootscanning, MaxChi, Genconv, and GARD methods. For the near full-length genomes, all recombinants formed a strongly supported clade further subdivided into the same subclades previously defined in pol. Mosaic structures were identical within each subclade and different among subclades, although 5 breakpoints were coincident among all recombinants. Individual phylogenetic trees for nonrecombinant fragments (concatenated B and G subtype segments) indicated a common ancestry for the parental viruses and their relationships to local subtype B and G strains. These results allow us to identify 3 new BG intersubtype circulating recombinant forms in Cuba derived from a common recombinant ancestor, which originated from B and G subtype parental strains circulating in Cuba.