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Genetic Evolution Between HIV-1 Groups M and O: HIV-1/MO Recombinant Forms.

Alice Moisan·Fabienne Tombette·Jean-Christophe Plantier
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Abstract

HIV exhibits significant genetic diversity, with genetic recombination being a major evolutionary process. The co-circulation of HIV-1/M and HIV-1/O variants has led to the description of 20 HIV-1/M+O dual infections since 1998. Despite the genetic divergence between these variants, HIV-1/M+O dual infections have resulted in the emergence of HIV-1/MO intergroup recombinant forms, with 20 unique HIV-1/MO recombinant forms (URF_MO) currently described, raising the question of a possible benefit of the recombination and the modalities of their emergence. This review summarized the current knowledge of HIV-1/MO recombinant forms, including their virological and genetic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis, genome profiles, and breakpoints number and location. This study also identified the potential impacts of HIV-1/MO recombination on diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment, as well as the replicative capacity of such recombinants. This review highlighted the greater diversity and complexity of HIV-1/MO recombinants than originally thought, offering new research perspectives on their emergence and virological properties.

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HIV-1HumansHIV InfectionsRecombination, GeneticEvolution, MolecularGenetic VariationPhylogenyGenome, ViralHIV diversityHIV evolutiongenetic recombinationphylogenetic analysisrecombinant formJournal ArticleReview

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Alice Moisan, Fabienne Tombette, Jean-Christophe Plantier. 2025. Genetic Evolution Between HIV-1 Groups M and O: HIV-1/MO Recombinant Forms.. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.70358

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