HIV-1 intersubtype B/C recombinants were more commonplace reported in high-risk populations in Yunnan province, China. In this study, three unique (B/C) recombinant isolates (2015YL02, 2018YL07, and SN18015) were identified from patients infected with HIV-1 through sexual transmission in Shaanxi province. Phylogenetic and bootscan analyses showed that three recombinants comprised HIV-1 subtype B and subtype C. The recombinant structures revealed that the near full-length sequence of 2015YL02 shared an identical mosaic structure with XC2014EU20, which was isolated from Sichuan province. And two similar breakpoints were observed between 2018YL07 and CRF08_BC in pol gene. The arising B/C recombinant forms enrich evidence of the HIV-1 genetic diversity among sexually transmitted populations and suggest that continuously monitoring HIV-1 molecular epidemiology is needed in Shaanxi province.
Keywords: HIV-1; diversity; recombinant.