Characterization of hepatitis B virus genotypes among Yucpa Indians in Venezuela

• Published in: Journal of general virology 2001-02, Vol.82 (2), p.359-365
• Main Authors: Nakano, Tatsunori, Lu, Ling, Hu, Xiaolei, Mizokami, Masashi, Orito, Etsuro, Shapiro, Craig N, Hadler, Stephan C, Robertson, Betty H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Consensus Sequence; Genome, Viral; Genotype; Hepatitis B - epidemiology; Hepatitis B - virology; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - chemistry; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - genetics; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis B virus - chemistry; Hepatitis B virus - classification; Hepatitis B virus - genetics; Humans; Indians, South American; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Deletion - genetics; Venezuela; Venezuela - epidemiology; Viral Proteins - chemistry; Viral Proteins - genetics
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-82-2-359

Hepatitis Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA 1 Second Department of Medicine, Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan 2 Author for correspondence: Betty H. Robertson. Fax [phone]. e-mail bjr1{at}cdc.gov The complete genome sequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from 12 HBV-infected Yucpa Indians of Venezuela, a group with highly endemic HBV, were amplified and sequenced. The 12 isolates were closely related to each other, with 98·6–100% nucleotide identity. A phylogenetic tree based on the complete genome indicated clearly that they were genotype F. Three individuals had evidence of infection with two different HBV deletion mutants. In two individuals, a three amino acid deletion was identified just prior to the ‘a’ determinant loop of the S region. A third individual was infected with virus that contained a complete core reading frame and a population that contained a deletion in the middle of the core region. These results indicate that genotype F HBV is present in the Venezuelan Yucpa Amerindians and the complete genome sequence allowed the identification of two unique deletion mutants in a limited set of samples.