Appearance of intratypic recombination of enterovirus 71 in Taiwan from 2002 to 2005

Genetic recombination is a well-known phenomenon for enteroviruses. In this study, we determined the phylogenetic relationships of five distinct regions of the EV71 genome for 73 EV71 isolates from 1986 and from 1998 to 2005 in Taiwan. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the 5′-UTR, VP4-VP2, VP1, and 3D regions of EV71 isolated in 2004 and 2005 were grouped into genotype C. However, the 2B region of these isolates differed in that it grouped with genotype B, indicating recombination within EV71 had occurred. This intratypic recombination was first seen in 2002 and became predominant in 2004 and 2005. The simplot and bootscan analyses identified two recombination points located at the 3′-termini of the 2A and 3C regions. This intratypic recombination was identified among naturally circulating EV71 isolates in Taiwan, therefore, it suggests that nonstructural genes may recombine to produce new EV71 variants.