Project description:While genome sequencing has identified numerous non-coding alterations between primate species, which of these are regulatory and potentially relevant to the evolution of the human brain is unclear. Here, we annotate cis-regulatory elements (CREs) in the human, rhesus macaque and chimpanzee genome using ChIP-sequencing in different anatomical parts of the adult brain. We find high similarity in the genomic positioning of CREs between rhesus macaque and humans, suggesting that the majority of these elements were already present in a common ancestor 25 million years ago. Most of the observed regulatory changes between humans and rhesus macaque occurred prior to the ancestral separation of humans and chimpanzee, leaving a modest set of regulatory elements with predicted human-specificity. Our data refine previous predictions and hypotheses on the consequences of genomic changes between primate species, and allow the identification of regulatory alterations relevant to the evolution of the brain. ChIP-Sequencing for H3K27ac on 8 distinct brain regions from human (three biological replicates per brain region), chimpanzee (two biological replicates per brain region) and rhesus macaque (three biological replicates per brain region).
Project description:This set includes individuals from 10 different primate species whose genomic DNA was used in an array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH)using human cDNA microarrays to detect gene copy number variation across 10 primate species. An organism part comparison experiment design type compares tissues, regions, organs within or between organisms. Keywords: organism_part_comparison_design, array CGH Computed
Project description:This set includes individuals from 10 different primate species whose genomic DNA was used in an array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH)using human cDNA microarrays to detect gene copy number variation across 10 primate species. An organism part comparison experiment design type compares tissues, regions, organs within or between organisms. Keywords: organism_part_comparison_design, array CGH
Project description:Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are regarded as a central tool to understand human biology in health and disease. Similarly, iPSCs from closely related species should be a central tool to understand human evolution and to identify conserved and variable patterns of iPSC disease models. Here, we have generated human, gorilla, bonobo and cynomolgus monkey iPSCs. We show that these cells are well comparable in their differentiation potential and generally similar to human, cynomolgus and rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells (ESCs). RNA sequencing reveals that expression differences among clones, individuals and stem cell type are all of very similar magnitude within a species. In contrast, expression differences between closely related primate species are three times larger and most genes show significant expression differences among the analysed species. However, pseudogenes differ more than twice as much, suggesting that evolution of expression levels in primate stem cells is rapid, but constrained. These patterns in pluripotent stem cells are comparable to those found in other tissues except testis. Hence, primate iPSCs reveal insights into general primate gene expression evolution and should provide a rich source to identify conserved and species-specific gene expression patterns for cellular phenotypes. Contributors: Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany We used expression profiling to characterize five gorilla, two bonobo and three macaque iPS clones as well as three iPS clones from two human individuals, three human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines and three macaque ES cell lines. We generated tagged RNA-Seq libraries from these 19 samples including four technical replicates (23 samples). Over 100 million single end reads were generated on the Illumina platform.
Project description:While genome sequencing has identified numerous non-coding alterations between primate species, which of these are regulatory and potentially relevant to the evolution of the human brain is unclear. Here, we annotate cis-regulatory elements (CREs) in the human, rhesus macaque and chimpanzee genome using ChIP-sequencing in different anatomical parts of the adult brain. We find high similarity in the genomic positioning of CREs between rhesus macaque and humans, suggesting that the majority of these elements were already present in a common ancestor 25 million years ago. Most of the observed regulatory changes between humans and rhesus macaque occurred prior to the ancestral separation of humans and chimpanzee, leaving a modest set of regulatory elements with predicted human-specificity. Our data refine previous predictions and hypotheses on the consequences of genomic changes between primate species, and allow the identification of regulatory alterations relevant to the evolution of the brain.
Project description:Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are regarded as a central tool to understand human biology in health and disease. Similarly, iPSCs from closely related species should be a central tool to understand human evolution and to identify conserved and variable patterns of iPSC disease models. Here, we have generated human, gorilla, bonobo and cynomolgus monkey iPSCs. We show that these cells are well comparable in their differentiation potential and generally similar to human, cynomolgus and rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells (ESCs). RNA sequencing reveals that expression differences among clones, individuals and stem cell type are all of very similar magnitude within a species. In contrast, expression differences between closely related primate species are three times larger and most genes show significant expression differences among the analysed species. However, pseudogenes differ more than twice as much, suggesting that evolution of expression levels in primate stem cells is rapid, but constrained. These patterns in pluripotent stem cells are comparable to those found in other tissues except testis. Hence, primate iPSCs reveal insights into general primate gene expression evolution and should provide a rich source to identify conserved and species-specific gene expression patterns for cellular phenotypes. Contributors: Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
Project description:Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold promise for generating personalized xenogenic organs via development of cross-species chimeric animals. However, whether human and other primate iPSCs are capable of establishing cross-species chimeras remains unknown. Recognizing the ethical concerns of cross-species chimerism using human iPSCs, we explored the capacity for cross-species chimerism between distinct, non-human primates. Injection of either pig-tailed macaque iPSCs or chimpanzee iPSCs into the rhesus macaque blastocyst embryos demonstrated that these cells survive, proliferate, and integrate near the rhesus inner cell mass (ICM). Ectopic expression of BCL2 in pig-tailed and chimpanzee iPSCs greatly improved the success rate of establishing cross-species blastocyst chimerism. This study represents the first successful cross-species blastocyst chimerism between distinct, non-human primate species, and highlights critical factors that may be necessary to unlock the broad potential of primate iPSCs to form cross-species chimeras, with diverse applications for basic research and translational medicine.
Project description:Distinct types of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons may have unique contributions to chronic pain. Identification of primate sensory neuron types is critical for understanding the cellular origin and heritability of chronic pain. However, molecular insights into the primate sensory neurons are missing. Here we classify non-human primate dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons based on their transcriptome and map human pain heritability to neuronal types. First, we identified cell correlates between two major datasets for mouse sensory neuron types. Machine learning exposes an overall cross-species conservation of somatosensory neurons between primate and mouse, although with differences at individual gene level, highlighting the importance of primate data for clinical translation. We map genomic loci associated with chronic pain in human onto primate sensory neuron types to identify the cellular origin of chronic pain. Genome-wide associations for chronic pain converge on two different neuronal types distributed between pain disorders that display different genetic susceptibilities, suggesting both unique and shared mechanisms between different pain conditions.
Project description:Distinct types of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons may have unique contributions to chronic pain. Identification of primate sensory neuron types is critical for understanding the cellular origin and heritability of chronic pain. However, molecular insights into the primate sensory neurons are missing. Here we classify non-human primate dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons based on their transcriptome and map human pain heritability to neuronal types. First, we identified cell correlates between two major datasets for mouse sensory neuron types. Machine learning exposes an overall cross-species conservation of somatosensory neurons between primate and mouse, although with differences at individual gene level, highlighting the importance of primate data for clinical translation. We map genomic loci associated with chronic pain in human onto primate sensory neuron types to identify the cellular origin of chronic pain. Genome-wide associations for chronic pain converge on two different neuronal types distributed between pain disorders that display different genetic susceptibilities, suggesting both unique and shared mechanisms between different pain conditions.