Project description:Cynomolgus monkeys are well-established translational models for biomedical research and drug testing. Cynomolgus monkeys are outbred species and exhibit substantial levels of genetic variation which can affect the outcome and interpretation of biomedical studies. Copy number variations (CNVs) are a significant source of genetic diversity and a comprehensive understanding of the genomic impact of CNVs on phenotypic traits is limited. A custom 4.2 million probes comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array (Design-ID: 120405_Cynomolgus5_CGH_UX1) has been designed on the basis of the Cynomolgus monkey genome (Ebeling et al. (2011) Genome Research; PMID: 21862625) to assess genome-wide copy number variation among Cynomolgus monkeys. Using Cynomolgus monkey specific NimbleGen CGH Microarrays we profiled the genomes of 21 Cynomolgus monkeys. Germline DNA from 21 Cynomolgus monkeys with different origin was tested against a Cynomolgus monkey reference. Cynomolus monkey samples were derived from breeding centers located in the Philippines (3 females and 3 males), in Vietnam (2 males and 2 females), in China for animals from Mainland Southeast Asia (3 females), or in Mauritius (4 females and 4 males). Furthermore genome-wide expression profiles were analyzed in 5 vitally important tissue samples (heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen) from the same animals using a custom Cynomolgus monkey specific NimbleGen gene expression microarray (design ID: 120419_Cynomolgus_v5_TH_exp_HX12) to associate CNV genotypes with expression changes of proximal genes using a cis expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) mapping approach. Expression data have been deposited at the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) under accession numbers GSE76560. The array CGH results analyzed in this study are further described in Gschwind A.R. et al. (2016) "Diversity and regulatory impact of copy number variation in the primate Macaca fascicularis". under submission
Project description:The long-tailed macaque, also referred to as cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis), is one of the most important non-human primate animal models in basic and applied biomedical research. To improve the predictive power of primate experiments for humans, we determined the genome sequence of a Macaca fascicularis female of Mauritian origin using a whole-genome shotgun sequencing approach. We applied a template switch strategy which employs either the rhesus or the human genome to assemble sequence reads. The 6-fold sequence coverage of the draft genome sequence enabled discovery of about 2.1 million potential single-nucleotide polymorphisms based on occurrence of a dimorphic nucleotide at a given position in the genome sequence. Homology-based annotation allowed us to identify 17,387 orthologs of human protein-coding genes in the M. fascicularis draft genome and the predicted transcripts enabled the design of a M. fascicularis-specific gene expression microarray. Using liver samples from 36 individuals of different geographic origin, we identified 718 genes with highly variable expression in liver, whereas the majority of the transcriptome shows relatively stable and comparable expression. Knowledge of the M. fascicularis draft genome is an important contribution to both the use of this animal in disease models and the safety assessment of drugs and their metabolites. In particular, this information allows high-resolution genotyping and microarray-based gene expression profiling for animal stratification, thereby allowing the use of well-characterized animals for safety testing. Finally, the genome sequence presented here is a significant contribution to the global "3R" animal welfare initiative, which has the goal to reduce, refine and replace animal experiments. A 36-microarray study using total RNA recovered from liver samples of untreated Cynomolgus monkeys of good laboratory practice (GLP) drug safety studies. The monkeys were from the Philippines, a Chinese colony, and Mauritius. Each microarray measures the expression level of 16,896 genes using 20,047 probe sets with six 60-mer probes (PM) per probe set. Each probe set is represented once on the array. The Cynomolgus monkey gene expression results analyzed in this study are further described in Ebeling et al. (2011) (PMID 21862625).
Project description:Advances in circadian research revealed an intricate relationship between aging and circadian rhythms. However, whether and how the circadian machinery contribute to stem cell aging, especially in primates, remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of BMAL1, the only non-redundant circadian clock component, during aging in mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs). We observed an accelerated aging phenotype in both BMAL1 deficient human and cynomolgus monkey MPCs. Notably, this phenotype is mainly attributed to a transcriptional-independent role of BMAL1 in stabilizing the heterochromatin and thus preventing LINE1 activation. In senescent MPCs from human and cynomolgus monkeys, dampened LINE1 binding capacity of BMAL1 and synergistically activated LINE1 transcripts were observed. Furthermore, similar de-stabilized heterochromatin and aberrant LINE1s transcription was observed in the skin and muscle tissues from BMAL1-deficient cynomolgus monkey. Altogether, these findings uncover a noncanonical role of BMAL1 in stabilizing heterochromatin to inactivate LINE1 that drives aging in primates.
Project description:Non-human primates (NHP) are attractive laboratory animal models that accurately reflect both developmental and pathological features of humans. Here we present a compendium of cell types from the cynomolgus monkey Macaca fascicularis (denoted as ‘Monkey Atlas’) using both single-cell chromatin accessibility (scATAC-seq) and RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data at the organism-wide level. The integrated cell map enables in-depth dissection and comparison of molecular dynamics, cell-type composition and cellular heterogeneity across multiple tissues and organs. Using single-cell transcriptomic data, we inferred pseudotime cell trajectories and cell-cell communications to uncover key molecular signatures underlying their cellular processes. Furthermore, we identified various cell-specific cis-regulatory elements and constructed organ-specific gene regulatory networks at the single-cell level. Finally, we performed a comparative analysis of single-cell landscapes among mouse, cynomolgus monkey and human, and we showed that cynomolgus monkey has significantly higher degree of cell-type similarity to human than mouse. Taken together, our study provides a valuable resource for NHP cell biology.
Project description:BACKGROUND: In order to contribute to the establishment of a complete map of transcribed regions of the human genome, we constructed a testicular cDNA library for the cynomolgus monkey, and attempted to find novel transcripts for identification of their human homologues. RESULT: The full-insert sequences of 512 cDNA clones were determined. Ultimately we found 302 non-redundant cDNAs carrying open reading frames of 300 bp-length or longer. Among them, 89 cDNAs were found not to be annotated previously in the Ensembl human database. After searching against the Ensembl mouse database, we also found 69 putative coding sequences have no homologous cDNAs in the annotated human and mouse genome sequences in Ensembl.We subsequently designed a DNA microarray including 396 non-redundant cDNAs (with and without open reading frames) to examine the expression of the full-sequenced genes. With the testicular probe and a mixture of probes of 10 other tissues, 316 of 332 effective spots showed intense hybridized signals and 75 cDNAs were shown to be expressed very highly in the cynomolgus monkey testis, but not ubiquitously. CONCLUSIONS: In this report, we determined 302 full-insert sequences of cynomolgus monkey cDNAs with enough length of open reading frames to discover novel transcripts as human homologues. Among 302 cDNA sequences, human homologues of 89 cDNAs have not been predicted in the annotated human genome sequence in the Ensembl. Additionally, we identified 75 dominantly expressed genes in testis among the full-sequenced clones by using a DNA microarray. Our cDNA clones and analytical results will be valuable resources for future functional genomic studies.