Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 recombination: rate, fidelity, and putative hot spots.

ABSTRACT: Previously, we reported that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) recombines approximately two to three times per genome per replication cycle, an extremely high rate of recombination given the relatively small genome size of HIV-1. However, a recombination hot spot involving sequence of nonretroviral origin was identified in the vector system utilized, raising the possibility that this hot spot skewed the rate of recombination, and the rate of recombination observed was an overestimation. To address this issue, an HIV-1-derived vector system was used to examine the rate of recombination between autologous HIV-1 sequences after restricting replication to a single cycle in the absence of this hot spot. Viral DNA and RNA were analyzed by a combination of the heteroduplex tracking assa

SUBMITTER: Zhuang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC136766 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature