Sequence Notes: Identification of Two New CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC Recombinants in Men Who Have Sex with Men Populations in Beijing, China

Since HIV-1 is a retrovirus with a high mutation rate and recombination rate, the virus contains a variety of genotypes and recombinants. The men who have sex with men (MSM) population in Beijing has become the main group of HIV transmission, and the co-transmission of multiple HIV-1 subtypes in the same high-risk group has led to the continuous generation of recombinants between various subtypes. In this study, two unique recombinant forms were identified in the samples from Beijing, and the full-length sequences were amplified and sequenced for analysis. Through the construction of phylogenetic trees and recombination breakpoint analysis, the two recombinants were identified as second-generation recombinants composed of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC. The emergence of more complex recombinant strains poses new challenges to HIV prevention, and it is necessary to focus on monitoring the epidemic in the MSM population.