FIG 3.

HBV QS diversities (genetic distance at the nucleotide level) in each pair. In general, the QS genetic distances in mothers were greater than those in daughters (P < 0.05 in 4 pairs). Patient 5 (liver cirrhosis) had a greater genetic distance than the others, and the QS genetic distance in the preC/C region was much greater than that of the other genes. The history of each pair indicated that the higher QS diversities may be due to fluctuation of liver inflammation in addition to the age.