The identification of a complex A/G/I/J recombinant HIV type 1 virus in various West African countries

In this sequence note we describe the full-length genome sequence of an HIV-1 isolate originating from the west African country of Mali. The phylogenetic tree analysis from the near full-length genome shows that the 95ML84 strain forms a separate cluster, supported by 100% of the bootstrap values, with the previously described A/G/J/? mosaic virus BFP90 from Burkina Faso. Additional analysis showed that throughout the genome the lowest diversity was seen between the 95ML84 and the BFP90 viruses, and bootscan analysis showed a similar complex genomic structure. In addition to the initial report describing the BFP90 virus as an A/G/J/? recombinant, our data show that for the BFP90 and 95ML84 strains the unclassified region corresponds to subtype I. The A/G/I/J BFP90 and 95ML84 strains represent the fifth and most complex circulating recombinant form of HIV-1 detected so far, and our data show its presence in various West African countries. Subtype I and J sequences, initially considered rare, seem to have broadened their geographical spread by way of these recombinant forms.