Genotyping of Hepatitis B Virus - Genotypes A to G by Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction

• <i>Objectives:</i> Eight genotypes (A–H) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are known with variations in nucleotide sequences greater than 8%. Several recent publications found that the clinical course and outcome of antiviral therapy depended on the genotype of the infecting HBV strain. Large epidemiological studies will require the availability of a system which is rapid, reliable and can be performed on a large number of samples. <i>Methods:</i> To establish a simple and accurate genotyping method, the study collected 369 HBV complete genomic sequences from the GenBank database. Type-specific primers were also designed that separated HBV genotypes A to G by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. <i>Results:</i> By comparison with the traditional restriction fragment length polymorphism method, over 93% of 441 samples were accurately genotyped by current assay, with a higher detection rate and sensitivity to detect mixed HBV infections. <i>Conclusions:</i> This methodology can be applied only to areas prevalent with HBV genotypes A to G. However, it provides an efficient alternative for clinical diagnosis and large-scale studies.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Mikrobiologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Microbiology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

Keyword

phylogenetic relatedness

a-f

pcr

hbv

classification

resistance

lamivudine

genomes

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)