Genetic Diversity of Strains of HIV-1 circulating in African Populations
- HIV is categorized into HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2) on the basis of differences in the viral antigens and genetic characteristics (Seitz, 2016). HIV-1 is more virulent and the major cause for the global AIDS pandemic (MA et al., 2017) while HIV-2 is less virulent and less common.
- The existence of genetic variation in HIV-1 is caused by the error-prone reverse transcriptase enzyme, recombination events during replication of the virus, HIV-1 rapid turnover in the body and immune system selective pressures (Désiré et al., 2018).
- HIV-1 genetic variability is the major obstacle in the treatment of HIV and development of effective drugs. This variability occurs rapidly with some variants believed to be more virulent and resistant to different antiretroviral drugs. It is therefore pertinent to establish the genetic diversity of HIV-1.
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Involves the retrieval, from NCBI and Los Alamos databases, of HIV full sequences from different African countries.
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Download Miniconda for your specific OS to your home directory
Linux: wget https://repo.continuum.io/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
Mac: curl https://repo.continuum.io/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh
- Run:
bash Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
bash Miniconda3-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh
- Install the following packages
conda install -c bioconda mafft
conda install -c bioconda iqtree
conda install -c bioconda figtree
conda install -c bioconda aliview
Hesborn Obura, Bioscience Research Center,Pwani University, P.O. Box 195-80108, Kilifi, Kenya
Clement Mlay, Bioscience Research Center,Pwani University, P.O. Box 195-80108, Kilifi, Kenya
Lindani Moyo, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe & Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Kauthar Mwanamkuu Omar, Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya, P.O. Box 195-80108, Kilifi, Kenya
Wilson Mudaki, Bioscience Research Center,Pwani University, P.O. Box 195-80108, Kilifi, Kenya
Erick Masunge Sinza, Tanzania Human Genetics Organization, P.O. Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Gladys Rotich, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P.O. Box 30772-00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Brenda Muthoni Kamau, Pwani University, Kilifi Kenya, P.O. Box 195-80108, Kilifi, Kenya
Brenda Muthoni Karumbo, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya