Characterization of Two Novel HIV-1B/CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC Recombinant Forms Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Hebei Province, China

The frequent recombination between subtypes has driven significant HIV-1 genetic diversity in recent years, especially in some areas with co-circulation of multiple subtypes. In this study, we obtained nearly full-length genome sequences of two novel HIV-1 B/CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC recombinants from BD076A and BDL161, with lengths of 8718 bp (HXB2:772-9490) and 8851 bp (HBB2:759-9610), respectively. Both recombination breakpoint and Bootscanning analysis revealed that the recombinant structure of BD076A was based on the CRF07_BC backbone, with the insertion of one subtype B and one CRF01_AE gene fragment, containing four subregions. Similarly, BDL161 was based on the CRF07_BC backbone, with the insertion of one subtype B fragment and two CRF01_AE gene fragments, containing seven subregions. These findings highlight the importance of sustaining molecular epidemiological surveillance to monitor HIV-1 diversity and take effective prevention and control strategies in the region.