In-vivo use of SIVmac239 with a reversing stop codon in the SIV nef gene

This letter is in response to a request from the Editor to provide additional information for readers on how the variant of SIV with a stop codon in the SIV nef gene used in the in-vivo studies published in 2015 [1] and 2017 [2] was created and the rationale for its use. The SIVmac239 stock used in these studies was created by assembling the two plasmids obtained from the NIH AIDS Reagent and Reference Program (p239SpSp5′ and p239Sp3′) according...