NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF THE 5'-NONCODING REGION OF HEPATITIS-G VIRUS ISOLATED FROM JAPANESE PATIENTS - COMPARISON WITH REPORTED ISOLATES

The nucleotide sequences of the 5' noncoding region (NCR) of hepatitis G virus (HGV) from sera of Japanese patients were determined. Among t hese isolates, there was a high degree (>96.9%) of sequence identity, whereas identity with previously reported GB virus-C or HGV strains wa s low (>87.0%). Phylogenetic analyses showed that the HGV strains from Japanese patients clustered in groups distantly separated from previo usly reported strains. Among the Japanese HGV isolates, the genetic di stances corresponded to subtype differences observed within hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates, whereas the differences between the Japanese i solates and the prototypes corresponded to genetic distances observed between HCV genotypes. The Japanese HGV isolates found in this study s hould be placed in a new genotype distinct from previously described i solates. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.