Molecular Cloning of SIV From Sooty Mangabey Monkeys

Abstract
We derived two infectious molecular clones of SIV from sooty mangabey monkeys (Cercocebus atys ) and compared them by restriction enzyme mapping and limited DNA sequencing to other known primate lentiviruses. These analyses show that SIVsmm is closely related to, but distinct from, SIVmac and HIV‐2. Our data suggest that SIVmac may have been derived from SIVsmm by cross‐species transmission in captivity.