P20-13. Identification and characterization of early founder populations in Rhesus macaques vaginally infected with SIVmac251

Background HIV transmission most commonly occurs at mucosal surfaces, and vaccine development and other preventative strategies should be directed at the transmitted viruses that are responsible for establishing productive infection. The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) models of HIV infection use virus stocks for inoculation of monkeys at defined times. This greatly simplifies the process of identifying the transmitted or early founder virus populations, the variants evolving after transmission that establish systemic infection and the role of viral selection during sexual transmission.