The First Complete Genome Sequences of Hepatitis C Virus Subtype 2b from Latin America: Molecular Characterization and Phylogeographic Analysis

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remarkable genetic diversity and exists as eight genotypes (1 to 8) with distinct geographic distributions. No complete genome sequence of HCV subtype 2b (HCV-2b) is available from Latin American countries, and the factors underlying its emergence and spread within th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2019-10, Vol.11 (11), p.1000
Main Authors: Spitz, Natália, Barros, José J, do Ó, Kycia M, Brandão-Mello, Carlos E, Araujo, Natalia M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bayesian analysis
bayesian framework
Datasets
DNA polymerase
Epidemiology
full-length genome
Gene deletion
Genetic diversity
Genomes
Genotype & phenotype
Genotypes
Geographical distribution
hcv subtypes
Hepatitis C
hepatitis c virus
latin america
Nucleotide sequence
Nucleotides
Patients
Phylogenetics
Phylogeography
Polymerase chain reaction
rt-pcr
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Summary:The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remarkable genetic diversity and exists as eight genotypes (1 to 8) with distinct geographic distributions. No complete genome sequence of HCV subtype 2b (HCV-2b) is available from Latin American countries, and the factors underlying its emergence and spread within the continent remain unknown. The present study was conducted to determine the first full-length genomic sequences of HCV-2b isolates from Latin America and reconstruct the spatial and temporal diversification of this subtype in Brazil. Nearly complete HCV-2b genomes isolated from two Brazilian patients were obtained by direct sequencing of long PCR fragments and analyzed together with reference sequences using the Bayesian coalescent and phylogeographic framework approaches. The two HCV-2b genomes were 9318 nucleotides (nt) in length (nt 37-9354). Interestingly, the long RT-PCR technique was able to detect co-circulation of viral variants that contained an in-frame deletion of 2022 nt encompassing E1, E2, and p7 proteins. Spatiotemporal reconstruction analyses suggest that HCV-2b had a single introduction in Brazil during the early 1980s, displaying an epidemic history characterized by a low and virtually constant population size until the present time. These results coincide with epidemiological data in Brazil and may explain the low national prevalence of this subtype.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v11111000