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However, we argue that continuing to designate all detected CRFs as distinct entities is biologically unjustified, as many represent recombinants of limited epidemiological significance. Indeed, the mechanistic underpinning of HIV-1 recombination highlights the arbitrary nature of naming these incidental recombinants, the majority of which are rarely detected again. This underlines the need to prioritise taxonomically meaningful clades, with a focus on biological significance such as emergence events associated with significant epidemiological spread, phenotypic properties or transmission advantage.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1014286","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T17:35:18Z","timestamp":1783964118000},"page":"e1014286","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.ppat.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Pervasive HIV recombination limits the utility of circulating recombinant form nomenclature"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Heather E.","family":"Grant","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abayomi S.","family":"Olabode","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6905-0474","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dorothea","family":"Seiler Vellame","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Art F. 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