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To: Washington Fiéld From: Washington viel® Re: 279A-WF-222936-USAMRIID, 01/31/2007 The second caption describes: "Ames strain - from original agar slant from Ames, Iowa,_ USDA. This is the version of the Ames strain used by Bruce 7 Ivins. This version of the Ames strain given to Dugway be Proving Ground, Battelle Memorial Research Institute, DRES, BIC and U. of New Mexico." During the interview with sat Ivins further describes the image of the material to have been inoculated with a stock that had been prepared subsequent to multiple growths, during which the organism was transferred from one plate to the next, instead of starting from the original material. Ivins further explained that this process can result in the introduction of mutations that can cause differences in morphology. Ivins further describes the image of the "original" material to have been inoculated using a culture that is "just a Slant away from the cow". Ivins explained, "The Ames stock from the original slant was sent to "Dugway Proving Ground Battelle Memorial Research Institute, D.R.E.S (the Defen rch Establishment at Suffield, Canada), and tof Jene University of New Mexico." When material is shipped from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the researcher preparing the shipment describes the items to be shipped on a USAMRIID shipping document, known as a Form 11-R, which is used during the approval process for the shipment, and ultimately maintained in the USAMRIID Safety Office. The 11-R must be signed by the Principle Investigator (PTI) responsible for the shipment, the PI's Division Chief, and the Safety Office prior to shipment. Review of 11-R documents from the USAMRIID Safety Office show that the only shipments to the University of New Mexico and Battelle were described to be samples taken from RMR-1029, which is a large preparation of Bacillus anthracis Ames spores compiled from multiple productions grown in both, shaker flasks at USAMRIID and fermentors at Dugway Proving Ground. Analysis to date has found RMR-1029 to be the only Bacillus anthracis Ames material to have matching genetic signatures identical to the evidentiary spore material from the anthrax attacks of 2001. Since RMR-1029 was the only material described to have been shipped to Battelle and ‘the University of New Mexico, AMERITHRAX Investigators were confused with regard to the source material descriptions, and the analysis of the: morphological variations depicted in the images provided by Ivins. [_)3101.wpd 2