Sooty mangabey genome sequence provides insight into AIDS resistance in a natural SIV host

Sooty mangabeys are a primate model for non-pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. Guido Silvestri and colleagues sequenced the genome of a captive sooty mangabey from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia. They compared this with the genomic sequences of other primates and suggest several candidate genes that may influence differences in SIV pathogenicity across nonhuman primates. The team also analysed genetic variation in the genomes of 10 sooty mangabeys from the same centre and the transcriptomes of 14 tissues. This work provides a resource for comparative genomics and studies on SIV pathogenicity.