Abstract
HIV exhibits significant genetic diversity, with genetic recombination
being a major evolutionary process. The co-circulation of HIV-1/M and
HIV-1/O variants has led to the description of 20 HIV-1/M+O dual
infections since 1998. Despite the genetic divergence between these
variants, HIV-1/M+O dual infections have resulted in the emergence of
HIV-1/MO intergroup recombinant forms, with 20 unique HIV-1/MO
recombinant forms (URF_MO) currently described, raising the question of
a possible benefit of the recombination and the modalities of their
emergence.. This review summarized the current knowledge on HIV-1/MO
recombinant forms, including their virological and genetic
characteristics, phylogenetic analysis, genome profiles, and breakpoints
number and location. This work also identified the potential impacts of
HIV-1/MO recombination on diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment, as well
as the replicative capacity of such recombinants. This review
highlighted the greater diversity and complexity of HIV-1/MO
recombinants than originally thought, offering new research perspectives
on their emergence and virological properties.