HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Alagiozoglou, L. Articles by Morris, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Alagiozoglou, L. Articles by Morris, L. Agricola Articles by Alagiozoglou, L. Articles by Morris, L.

Phylogenetic analysis of human herpesvirus-8 in South Africa and identification of a novel subgroup

AIDS Virus Research Unit, National Institute for Virology and Department of Virology, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X4, Sandringham 2131, Johannesburg, South Africa¹
Cancer Registry, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg, South Africa²

Author for correspondence: Lynn Morris. Fax +27 11 321 4234. e-mail lynnm{at}niv.ac.za

The incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma in South Africa is increasing in parallel with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 epidemic. An 804 bp region in the ORF75 gene of 40 human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) isolates from South Africa was sequenced and the phylogenetic relationships were compared to published sequences. Nineteen strains clustered with subgroup B and 11 with subgroup A; however, the bootstrap values supporting these subgroups were not significant. Three strains grouped significantly with the C subgroup, while eight sequences did not cluster with any of the previously classified subgroups and were termed novel (N). The N subgroup differed from the A, B and C subgroups by DNA distances of 4·8, 4·2 and 4·5%, respectively, although within the N subgroup there was only 0·4% variation. The inclusion of this subgroup increased the number of previously described subgroup-specific polymorphisms from 17 to 47 over an 804 bp region. There was sufficient inter-subgroup genetic diversity for a single-strand conformational polymorphism assay to be used to identify them rapidly. Thus, based on analysis of the ORF75 gene, a unique HHV-8 subgroup, termed N, is present in South Africa, which accounts for 20% of circulating strains. Further studies are required to determine the degree of genetic divergence, distribution and pathogenic potential of this novel subgroup.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Wang, M. M. Brinkmann, M. Pietrek, M. Ottinger, O. Dittrich-Breiholz, M. Kracht, and T. F. Schulz Functional characterization of the M-type K15-encoded membrane protein of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus J. Gen. Virol., June 1, 2007; 88(6): 1698 - 1707. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Whitby, V. A. Marshall, R. K. Bagni, C. D. Wang, C. J. Gamache, J. R. Guzman, M. Kron, P. Ebbesen, and R. J. Biggar Genotypic characterization of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in asymptomatic infected subjects from isolated populations J. Gen. Virol., January 1, 2004; 85(1): 155 - 163. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Dourmishev, A. L. Dourmishev, D. Palmeri, R. A. Schwartz, and D. M. Lukac Molecular Genetics of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (Human Herpesvirus 8) Epidemiology and Pathogenesis Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., June 1, 2003; 67(2): 175 - 212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. N. Kakoola, J. Sheldon, N. Byabazaire, R. J. Bowden, E. Katongole-Mbidde, T. F. Schulz, and A. J. Davison Recombination in human herpesvirus-8 strains from Uganda and evolution of the K15 gene J. Gen. Virol., October 1, 2001; 82(10): 2393 - 2404. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]