The Role of Acute and Early HIV Infection in the Spread of HIV-1 in Lilongwe, Malawi: Implications for “Test and Treat” and Other Transmission Prevention Strategies

HIV transmission risk during acute and early HIV infection (EHI) is sharply elevated, but the contribution of EHI to ongoing HIV transmission is controversial. However, in settings where EHI contributes substantially to secondary transmissions, early diagnosis and intervention may be critical for HIV prevention. We estimated the contribution of EHI to HIV incidence in Lilongwe, Malawi and predicted the future impact of hypothetical prevention interventions affecting EHI only, chronic HIV infection (CHI) only, or both stages

Electrotransformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Intact yeast cell transformation is easily achieved by gene electrotransfer (GET). The procedure is fast and efficient in terms of transformants/mu g DNA. Yeast cells in exponential growth phase are washed, treated for a short period with dithiothreitol (DTT) and then mixed with the plasmid DNA in a buffer with a low conductivity. A single well defined electric pulsed is delivered. After a 1 h incubation in the growth medium without selection, transformants are obtained on a selective plate medium. After a short description of the present knowledge on the events affecting the yeast cell as a consequence of the pulsed electric field, a step-by-step protocol is reported for Saccharomyces cerevisiae