# Husbandry and Management Core

> **NIH NIH U42** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2021 · $1,369,841

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Maintenance of a non-human primate SPF breeding colony requires several factors to ensure the animals'
physical and behavior health, breeding production, genetic diversity, and exclusion of specified pathogens. The
pigtailed macaque, M. nemestrina, exhibits additional physical and behavioral characteristics that pose
additional challenges in colony maintenance. M. nemestrina exhibit greater susceptibility to the pathogenic
effects of many microorganisms. Their susceptibility to lentiviruses makes them valuable animal models for
HIV/AIDS research.1-11 However, nonhuman primates in standard outdoor breeding colonies are exposed to
environmental and vector-borne pathogens, such as Trypanosoma cruzi and Coccidioides immitis, and M.
nemestrina demonstrate enhanced susceptibility to disease with such exposure. Care must also be taken to
prevent M. nemestrina infants from hypothermia. In contrast to rhesus macaques (M. mulatta) which exhibit
seasonal breeding, infant M. nemestrina are born year-round and must be maintained in a heated
environment.
Breeding management is also different between M. mulatta and M. nemestrina. M. mulatta can be bred in
large multi-male, multi-female groups in large corrals with minimal infrastructure. In contrast, M. nemestrina
form single male multi-female fission/fusion groups in the wild12,13 and attempts to form multi-male groups
result in significant trauma. Even with stable, single-male breeding groups, productivity is lower for M.
nemestrina than for M. mulatta.14 The Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) has over 50
years of breeding experience with this species,15 and has the expertise and resources to meet these
challenges.
With support from this U42 cooperative agreement, we will ensure the health of the SPF M. nemestrina colony,
including maintaining the animals free of B virus, SIV, SRV, and STLV, along with control of environmental
organisms, such as T. cruzi and C. immitis. Using appropriate bioinformatics tools, we will increase production
of SPF M. nemestrina to meet the needs of HIV/AIDS investigators in a cost-effective manner. We will provide
SPF M. nemestrina to investigators in accordance with NIH-directed priorities. We will expand pre-assignment
screening of animals for T. cruzi, flaviruses, CMV, and AAV.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10155602
- **Project number:** 5U42OD011123-17
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** CHARLOTTE HOTCHKISS
- **Activity code:** U42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,369,841
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2002-09-30 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10155602

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10155602, Husbandry and Management Core (5U42OD011123-17). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10155602. Licensed CC0.

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