FIG. 1.

Alignment of the 5′ NCR sequences (positions −258 to −32) of the genotype 1a HCV prototype HC-J1 (GenBank accession number D10749), the three putative cases of genotype 5 (GenBank accession numbers AY033767 [C2072], AY033768 [C2434], and AY033769 [C2943]), and a genotype 5 isolate from Belgium (BE95; GenBank accession number L29581). At position −108, HC-J1 has a C instead of a T, which is commonly observed in most HCV isolates of all genotypes. Thus, this mutation (T→C) does not constitute a genotype 5-specific motif but constitutes an isolate-specific variation. Asterisks indicate sequence identity, and gaps indicate sequence differences.