Identification of a Novel HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF85_BC) in Sichuan, China

We report a novel HIV circulating recombinant form (CRF B/C) identified from 10 epidemiologically unlinked individuals in Sichuan province, China, all self-report infected by heterosexual behavior. Sequencing and analyzing the near-full-length genome of these strains revealed this recombinant form to be composed of subtype B (China and Thailand) and subtype C (China and India), with three subtype B segments inserted into the pol, vpu, and nef regions of the subtype C backbone. To our knowledge, this identified HIV-1 recombinant form differs from previously documented B/C forms in its distinct backbone, inserted fragment size, and breakpoints. In agreement with the current HIV nomenclature system, this novel recombinant form constitutes a novel CRF (CRF85_BC). Our present findings further enrich the diversity of the prevalent HIV-1 CRFs in China.