New pieces on genetic diversity and evolutionary history of hepatitis B virus: Characterization of the novel subgenotype F6

MOJSIEJCZUK, LN; TORRES, C; PISANO, MB; RE, V; CAMPOS, RH; FLICHMAN, DM

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 vol. 47 p. 140 - 142

1567-1348

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a globally distributed human pathogenthat causes acute and chronic infections. HBV shows a high genetic heterogeneityand has been classified into at least eight genotypes (A-H),based on an intergroup nucleotide divergence greater than 7.5% in thecomplete genome sequences. Moreover, ?subgenotypes? are definedas groups characterized by a divergence between 4% to 7.5%, and ?clades? are subgroups showing less than 4% nucleotide divergence. New complete genome sequences of HBV genotype Ffrom Argentina were described and, based on the genetic divergenceand phylogenetic evidences, it is proposed to classify these new isolatesalong with the sequences previously reported as a novel ?subgenotypeF6?. Accordingly, it is considered that the accurate classification ofHBV subgenotypes and a more exhaustive sampling might providenew insights for understanding the evolutionary history of HBV genotypeF and proposing new hypotheses addressing its diversificationprocess.