1887

Journal of General Virology header logo

Volume 90, Issue 10

Deletions and recombinations in the core region of hepatitis B virus genotype E strains from asymptomatic blood donors in Guinea, west Africa Free

Abstract

The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) chronic carriage in west Africa is the highest in the world, but its molecular epidemiology remains relatively poorly investigated. Plasma samples from random asymptomatic carriers of HBsAg in Conakry, Guinea, were studied and the complete genome sequences of 81 strains were obtained. Three additional samples from Kumasi, Ghana, were also included in the analysis. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the dominance of genotype E (95.1 %), including 8.6 % of strains (viral load, 5×10–2.6×10 IU ml) comprising dominant variants with large deletions in the core region and minority wild-type variants. The presence of two different patterns of deletions in two and four donors suggested targeted genome fragility between nt 1979 and 2314. The remaining sequences included one subgenotype A3 (1 %) and six A/E recombinant forms (4–7 %). A/E strains with identical points of recombination in three donors suggested strongly that these recombinant HBV strains are circulating and transmitted in the population. Recombination points were concentrated in the core gene. The detection of similar A/E recombinant strains in Ghana suggested a geographical extension of recombinant HBV to the region. The quasispecies of one additional Ghanaian strain sequenced in the pre-surface/surface region resolved into dominant clones of either the A or E genotype, but also three different patterns of A/E recombinant variants. The observation that both deletions of genotype E strains and A/E recombination points are mostly located in the core gene at specific positions indicates a region of the genome where genetic rearrangements preferentially take place.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
SGM
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0
2009-10-01
2024-04-19
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jgv/90/10/2442.html?itemId=/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Allain J. P., Candotti D., Soldan K., Sarkodie F., Phelps B., Giachetti C., Shyamala V., Yeboah F., Anokwa M. other authors 2003; The risk of hepatitis B virus infection by transfusion in Kumasi, Ghana. Blood 101:2419–2425 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Araujo N. M., Mello F. C., Yoshida C. F., Niel C., Gomes S. A. 2004; High proportion of subgroup A′ (genotype A) among Brazilian isolates of hepatitis B virus. Arch Virol 149:1383–1395
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bollyky P. L., Rambaut A., Harvey P. H., Holmes E. C. 1996; Recombination between sequences of hepatitis B virus from different genotypes. J Mol Evol 42:97–102 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Candotti D., Opare-Sem O., Rezvan H., Sarkodie F., Allain J. P. 2006; Molecular and serological characterization of hepatitis B virus in deferred Ghanaian blood donors with and without elevated alanine aminotransferase. J Viral Hepat 13:715–724 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Candotti D., Danso K., Allain J. P. 2007; Maternofetal transmission of hepatitis B virus genotype E in Ghana, west Africa. J Gen Virol 88:2686–2695 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Dejean A., Sonigo P., Wain-Hobson S., Tiollais P. 1984; Specific hepatitis B virus integration in hepatocellular carcinoma DNA through a viral 11-base-pair direct repeat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 81:5350–5354 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Fujiwara K., Tanaka Y., Orito E., Ohno T., Kato T., Sugihara K., Hasegawa I., Sakurai M., Ito K. other authors 2005; Distribution of HBV genotypes among HBV carriers in Benin: phylogenetic analysis and virological characteristics of HBV genotype E. World J Gastroenterol 11:6410–6415
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Hannoun C., Söderström A., Norkrans G., Lindh M. 2005; Phylogeny of African complete genomes reveals a West African genotype A subtype of hepatitis B virus and relatedness between Somali and Asian A1 sequences. J Gen Virol 86:2163–2167 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Huelsenbeck J. P., Ronquist F. 2001; mrbayes: Bayesian inference of phylogeny. Bioinformatics 17:754–755 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Huy T. T., Ishikawa K., Ampofo W., Izumi T., Nakajima A., Ansah J., Tetteh J. O., Nii-Trebi N., Aidoo S. other authors 2006; Characteristics of hepatitis B virus in Ghana: full length genome sequences indicate the endemicity of genotype E in West Africa. J Med Virol 78:178–184 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Kim H., Jee Y. M., Song B. C., Hyun J. W., Mun H. S., Kim H. J., Oh E. J., Yoon J. H., Kim Y. J. other authors 2007; Analysis of hepatitis B virus quasispecies distribution in a Korean chronic patient based on the full genome sequences. J Med Virol 79:212–219 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Kurbanov F., Tanaka Y., Fujiwara K., Sugauchi F., Mbanya D., Zekeng L., Ndembi N., Ngansop C., Kaptue L. other authors 2005; A new subtype (subgenotype) Ac (A3) of hepatitis B virus and recombination between genotypes A and E in Cameroon. J Gen Virol 86:2047–2056 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Lole K. S., Bollinger R. C., Paranjape R. S., Gadkari D. S. S., Novak G., Ingersoll R., Sheppard H. W., Ray S. C. 1999; Full-length human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genomes from subtype C-infected seroconverters in India, with evidence of intersubtype recombination. J Virol 73:152–160
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Loua A., Sow E. M., Magassouba F. B., Camara M., Baldé M. A. 2004; Evaluation of residual infectious risk among blood donors in National Center of Blood Transfusion in Conakry. Transfus Clin Biol 11:98–100 (in French [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Makuwa M., Souquiere S., Telfer P., Apetrei C., Vray M., Bedjabaga I., Mouinga-Ondeme A., Onanga R., Marx P. A. other authors 2006; Identification of hepatitis B virus subgenotype A3 in rural Gabon. J Med Virol 78:1175–1184 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Martin D. P., Williamson C., Posada D. 2005; rdp2: recombination detection and analysis from sequence alignments. Bioinformatics 21:260–262 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Meldal B. H., Moula N. M., Barnes I. H., Boukef K., Allain J. P. 2009; A novel hepatitis B virus subgenotype, D7, in Tunisian blood donors. J Gen Virol 90:1622–1628 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Mello F. C. A., Souto F. J. D., Nabuco L. C., Villela-Nogueira C. A., Coelho H. S. M., Franz H. C. F., Saraiva J. C. P., Virgolino H. A., Motta-Castro A. R. C. other authors 2007; Hepatitis B virus genotypes circulating in Brazil: molecular characterization of genotype F isolates. BMC Microbiol 7:103–112 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Morozov V., Pisareva M., Groudinin M. 2000; Homologous recombination between different genotypes of hepatitis B virus. Gene 260:55–65 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Motta-Castro A. R., Martins R. M., Yoshida C. F., Teles S. A., Paniago A. M., Lima K. M., Gomes S. A. 2005; Hepatitis B virus infection in isolated Afro-Brazilian communities. J Med Virol 77:188–193 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Mulders M. N., Venard V., Njayou M., Edorh A. P., Bola Oyefolu A. O., Kehinde M. O., Muyembe Tamfum J. J., Nebie Y. K., Maiga I. other authors 2004; Low genetic diversity despite hyperendemicity of hepatitis B virus genotype E throughout West Africa. J Infect Dis 190:400–408 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Odemuyiwa S. O., Mulders M. N., Oyedele O. I., Ola S. O., Odaibo G. N., Olaleye D. O., Muller C. P. 2001; Phylogenetic analysis of new hepatitis B virus isolates from Nigeria supports endemicity of genotype E in West Africa. J Med Virol 65:463–469 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Olinger C. M., Venard V., Njayou M., Oyefolu A. O., Maïga I., Kemp A. J., Omilabu S. A., le Faou A., Muller C. P. 2006; Phylogenetic analysis of the precore/core gene of hepatitis B virus genotypes E and A in West Africa: new subtypes, mixed infections and recombinations. J Gen Virol 87:1163–1173 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Posada D., Crandall K. A. 1998; modeltest: testing the model of DNA substitution. Bioinformatics 14:817–818 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Ronquist F., Huelsenbeck J. P. 2003; MrBayes 3: Bayesian phylogenetic inference under mixed models. Bioinformatics 19:1572–1574 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Simmonds P., Midgley S. 2005; Recombination in the genesis and evolution of hepatitis B virus genotypes. J Virol 79:15467–15476 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Sugauchi F., Orito E., Ichida T., Kato H., Sakugawa H., Kakumu S., Ishida T., Chutaputti A., Lai C. L. other authors 2003; Epidemiologic and virologic characteristics of hepatitis B virus genotype B having the recombination with genotype C. Gastroenterology 124:925–932 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Suzuki S., Sugauchi F., Orito E., Kato H., Usuda S., Siransy L., Arita I., Sakamoto Y., Yoshihara N. other authors 2003; Distribution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes among HBV carriers in the Cote d'Ivoire: complete genome sequence and phylogenetic relatedness of HBV genotype E. J Med Virol 69:459–465 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Swofford D. L. 2003 Phylogenetic analysis using parsimony (*and other methods), version 4 Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates;
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Wang Z., Liu Z., Zeng G., Wen S., Qi Y., Ma S., Naoumov N. V., Hou J. 2005; A new intertype recombinant between genotypes C and D of hepatitis B virus identified in China. J Gen Virol 86:985–990 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Zahn A., Li C., Danso K., Candotti D., Owusu-Ofori S., Temple J., Allain J. P. 2008; Molecular characterization of occult hepatitis B virus in genotype E-infected subjects. J Gen Virol 89:409–418 [CrossRef]
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0
Loading
Deletions and recombinations in the core region of hepatitis B virus genotype E strains from asymptomatic blood donors in Guinea, west Africa
J. Gen. Virol. 90, 2442 (2009); https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.012013-0
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Supplements

Supplementary material 1

PDF

Supplementary material 2

PDF

Most cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error