| [ Summary ] |
To elucidate the evolutionary relationship between hepatitis C virus(HCV) and the tentatively identified hepatitis G virus(GBV-C/HGV), we constructed a phylogenetic tree for the putative RNA helicase region of RNA viruses distantly related to HCV. The phylo-genetic tree showed that GB viruses (GBV-A, GBV-B), GBV-C/HGV, and HCV were closely related, and that they were clustered with pestiviruses, then flaviviruses, and finally plant viruses. The tree also showed that HCV was closely related to GBV-B, whereas GBV-C/HGV was closer to GBV-A. The tree for 5' UTR of GBV-C/HGV represented the three genetic groups. |