The goals of this project are to determine the frequency and mechanisms of HIV-1 recombination and to examine recombination between divergent lentiviruses. We have recently measured HIV-1 recombination rates and found that two markers 1.0 kb apart recombine at a rate approaching the 50% maximum measurable rate. Therefore, recombination is a very powerful tool for reassorting the HIV-1 genome; markers separated by a short distance are apparently unlinked during the process. We are studying HIV-1 recombination further by examining the relationship between recombination rates and marker distances shorter than 1 kb, by characterizing the locations and frequencies of recombination events in the HIV-1 genome, and by investigating whether high negative interference exists in HIV-1 recombination. We are also attempting to decipher the major mechanisms of HIV-1 recombination.
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