Peeters, unpublished data smmgag smmgagF1 (5′-TGGGAGATGGGCGCGAGAAACTCCGTC-3′) 1000 gag [50]   smmgagR1 (5′-ATCAGCAGTGTCTGTGTCATCCAATT-3′)         smmgagF2 (5′-AGGGAAAAAAGCAGATGAATTAGAA–3′) 800       smmgagR2 (5′-GCTCTTGTAGAAYCTATCTACATA-3′)       smmenv (gp41) smmenvF1 (5′-GCTACGGCAGGTTCTGCAATGGG-3′) 650 env [50]   smmenvR1 (5′-CTGGTCCTTGCGGATATGGATCTG-3′)

        smmenvF2 (5′-GCTGTCCGCTCAGTCCCGGACTTT-3′) 490       smmenvR2 (5′-GGAGGAGAACACTGGCCTATA-3′)       Y = C/T, W = A/T, R = A/G, H click here = A/C/T, B = C/G/T, S = G/C, K = G/T, D = A/G/T, N = A/C/T/G Y = C/T, M = A/C, K = G Sequencing of any suspicious bands that appeared on subsequent gel electrophoresis was performed in PRI-724 solubility dmso both directions using the Sanger method, with all PCR products being sequenced on both strands. Sequences were compared to the public database using NCBI BLAST

[45]. Acknowledgements We thank the Ivorian authorities for their long-term support, especially the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as the Ministry of Research, the directorship of the Taï National Park, the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves

and the Swiss Research Centre in Abidjan. We also thank S. Schenk, S. Metzger, and field assistants and students of the Taї Chimpanzee – and Taï Monkey Project for assistance in sample collection, and U. Thiesen, A. Blasse, A. Kopp, S. Handrick, J. Hinzmann and A. Hübner for assistance in the laboratory. Carnitine dehydrogenase For sequencing we thank J. Tesch. We thank A. Goffe for help with the manuscript. The study was funded by the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany and Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany, grant RO1 AI 50529 from the National Institute of Health, USA, and grant ANRS 12182 from the National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS) in France. References 1. Keele BF, Van Heuverswyn F, Li Y, Bailes E, Takehisa J, Santiago ML, Bibollet-Ruche F, Chen Y, Wain LV, Liegeois F, et al.: Chimpanzee reservoirs of pandemic and nonpandemic HIV-1. Science 2006, 313:523–526.PubMedCrossRef 2. Hahn BH, Shaw GM, De Cock KM, Sharp PM: AIDS as a zoonosis: scientific and public health implications. Science 2000, 287:607–614.