WaNPRC MACACA NEMESTRINA SPF BREEDING COLONY

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DESCRIPTION (Provided by applicant): Nonhuman primate (NHP) species have proven to be invaluable resources for AIDS research in several fields, including vaccine development, therapeutic agent discovery, and pathogenesis. Unfortunately, a significant shortage of macaques currently exists, particularly for the M. mulatta of defined genetic and pathogen status. To meet the needs of AIDS-related research, other species of macaque must be utilized. The M. nemestrina is an excellent alternative macaque species for NHP AIDS studies. This species has been used extensively at a number of research centers, but in particular, it is the most heavily used species of macaque utilized at the WaNPRC. Well-defined models currently exist in this species utilizing a large number of primate lentiviruses and other infectious agents. A small colony of M. nemestrina of defined pathogen (SPF) and genetic status is currently available at the WaNPRC for AIDS-related studies. This application seeks to expand the size of this SPF M. nemestrina breeding colony to provide a significant increase in the long-term availability of appropriate NHPs. In addition, this application seeks to expand a similar colony owned by the WaNPRC, but located in Indonesia. Access to feral animals is not limited in this country of origin and this application seeks to take advantage of this to quickly expand the existing SPF M. nemestrina colony to breed SPF offspring that will be transferred to the United States. This programmatic structure will take advantage of existing WaNPRC resources to provide a significant increase in the number of M. nemestrina available for AIDS research.