HIV-1 pol gene variation is sufficient for reconstruction of transmissions in the era of antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

Despite its genetic conservation, the HIV-1 pol gene holds sufficient variability to permit the phylogenetic reconstruction of transmissions. Identical clusters were obtained whichever of the three principal genes is considered and no bias was induced by the presence of drug resistance mutations. These findings demonstrate the important epidemiological information inherent within routinely collected laboratory data, which can assist in estimating rates of recent HIV-1 transmission within a population.