| ARTICLE ABSTRACT | |||||||
| DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.19532-0 | ||||||||
| Online 25 September 2003 | ||||||||
Mauro Costa-Mattioli,1 Anna Di Napoli,2 Virginie Ferré,3 Sylviane Billaudel,3 Raul Perez-Bercoff2 and Juan Cristina4
1Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, McIntyre Medical Building, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1Y6
2Laboratoire de Virologie Moléculaire et Structurale, CNRS, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
3Laboratorie de Virologie UPRES-EA1156, Institut de Biologie, Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire de Nantes, Rue Quai Moncousu 9, 44093 Nantes, France
4Departamento de Técnicas Nucleares Aplicadas, Centro de Investigaciones Nucleares, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Igua 4225, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
Knowledge of the molecular biology of hepatitis A virus (HAV) has increased exponentially since its identification. HAV exploits all known mechanisms of genetic variation to ensure survival, including mutation and genetic recombination. HAV has been characterized by the emergence of different genotypes, three human antigenic variants and only one major serotype. This paper reviews the genetic variability and molecular epidemiology of HAV. Its evolutionary mechanisms are described with particular emphasis on genetic recombination and HAV mutation rate. Genotypic classification methods are also discussed.
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© 2003 SGM
This article will appear in the December 2003 print issue of JGV. Thereafter it will be available in electronic form on JGV Online.
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