Project description:The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are an important component of the vertebrate immune system and play a significant role in mate choice in many species. However, it remains unclear whether female mate choice in non-human primates is based on specific functional genes and/or genome-wide genes. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) lives in a multilevel society, which consists of several polygynous one-male-several-female units. Although adult females tend to mainly socialize with one adult male, females often initiate extra-pair copulations with other males resulting in a high proportion of offspring being fathered by extra-pair males. We investigated the effects of adaptive MHC genes and neutral microsatellites on female mate choice in a wild R. roxellana population. We sequenced 54 parent-offspring triads using two MHC class II loci (Rhro-DQA1 and Rhro-DQB1) and 20 microsatellites from 3 years of data. We found that the paternities of offspring were non-randomly associated with male MHC compositions not microsatellite genotypes. Our study showed that the fathers of all infants had significantly less variance for several estimates of genetic similarity to the mothers compared with random males at both MHC loci. Additionally, the MHC diversity of these fathers was significantly higher than random males. We also found support for choice based on specific alleles; compared with random males, Rhro-DQA1∗ 05 and Rhro-DQB1∗ 08 were more common in both the OMU (one-male unit) males and the genetic fathers of offspring. This study provides new evidence for female mate choice for MHC-intermediate dissimilarity (rather than maximal MHC dissimilarity) and highlights the importance of incorporating multiple MHC loci and social structure into studies of MHC-based mate choice in non-human primates.
Project description:Diarrhea is often associated with marked alterations in the intestinal microbiota, termed dysbiosis; however, limited information is currently available on the intestinal microbiota in captive golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) with diarrhea. We herein characterized the fecal microbiota in diarrhea and healthy monkeys using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The concentrations of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and copy numbers of virulence factor genes were also assessed using gas chromatography and quantitative PCR (qPCR), respectively. The results obtained showed that diarrhea monkeys harbored a distinctive microbiota from that of healthy monkeys and had 45% fewer Bacteroidetes. Among healthy subjects, old monkeys had the lowest relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. Linear discriminant analysis coupled with the effect size (LEfSe) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) identified significant differences in microbial taxa between diarrhea and healthy monkeys. A PICRUSt analysis revealed that several pathogenic genes were enriched in diarrhea monkeys, while glycan metabolism genes were overrepresented in healthy monkeys. A positive correlation was observed between the abundance of nutrition metabolism-related genes and the individual digestive capacities of healthy monkeys. Consequently, the abundance of genes encoding heat stable enterotoxin was significantly higher in diarrhea monkeys than in healthy monkeys (P<0.05). In healthy subjects, adult monkeys had significant higher concentrations of butyrate and total SCFAs than old monkeys (P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that diarrhea had a microbial component and changes in the microbial structure were accompanied by altered systemic metabolic states. These results suggest that pathogens and malabsorption are the two main causes of diarrhea, which are closely related to the microbial structure and functions.
Project description:BackgroundAdenoviruses are important pathogens with the potential for interspecies transmission between humans and non-human primates. Although many adenoviruses have been identified in monkeys, the knowledge of these viruses from the Colobinae members is quite limited.FindingsWe conducted a surveillance of viral infection in endangered golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in the subfamily Colobinae in China, and found that 5.1% of sampled individuals were positive for adenovirus. One of the adenoviruses (SAdV-WIV19) was successfully isolated and its full-length genome was sequenced. The full-length genome of WIV19 is 33,562 bp in size, has a G + C content of 56.2%, and encodes 35 putative genes. Sequence analysis revealed that this virus represents a novel species in the genus Mastadenovirus. Diverse cell lines, including those of human origin, were susceptible to WIV19.ConclusionWe report the first time the isolation and full-length genomic characterization of an adenovirus from the subfamily Colobinae.
Project description:Collective decision-making is important for coordination and synchronization of the activities among group-living animals and the mechanisms guiding such procedure involve a great variety of characteristics of behavior and motivation. This study provides some evidence investigating collective movement initiation in a multi-level social band of the golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) located in the Mts. Qinling, China. We collect 1223 datum records relevant to decision initiation from six OMUs. The results indicate that collective movement initiation could be divided into two continual but relatively independent processes: decisions on moving direction and movement implementation. In both processes, adult individuals are more likely to initiate the decision-making, while other adults vote on initiator's preference, with a threshold, a supporting number required for a success. Thus, voting behavior and quorum fulfillment contribute to a successful decision-making. Adult individuals play important role in making decisions for moving direction and implementation. For a successful collective movement initiation, the individuals being more central in grooming network initiate decisions more frequently than the others, and attract voters more easily. Furthermore, following the initiation, at least four positive voters are required for a direction decision and at least three positive voters are needed for the decision on movement implementation, which could be considered as the threshold of quorum numbers required for a successful decision. This study has provided some very interesting information and scientific evidence in understanding social structure and behaviors of the nonhuman primates with a social structure very similar to humans'. Thus, some results can directly be referred to the comprehension of human social structure and behavior.
Project description:Fecal samples (n?=?76) were collected from 38 snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (China) and examined for the presence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). The 56 samples originated from 30 free-ranging monkeys on the reserve and 20 samples from 8 captive monkeys that were previously rescued and kept at the research center. Eight diarrhea samples were collected from four of the eight captive monkeys (two samples from each monkey), and two EPEC strains (2.6%) (95% confidence interval 0.3-9.2%) were isolated from two fecal samples from two diarrheic monkeys. Both strains belonged to serotype O98 and phylogenetic group D (TspE4C2+, ChuA+). The virulence gene detection identified these strains as an atypical EPEC (aEPEC) (bfpB - , stx1 - , and stx2-) with the subtype eae+, escV+, and intimin?+. These strains were highly sensitive to all the antibiotics tested. The lethal dose 50% of the two isolates in Kunming mice was 7.40?×?108?CFU/0.2?mL and 2.40?×?108?CFU/0.2?mL, respectively, indicating low virulence. Based on the report that this serotype had been isolated from some other non-human animals and humans with diarrhea, the first identification of aEPEC O98 strains and their drug resistance profile in R. roxellana is of ecological significance for disease control in this endangered species.
Project description:Many species of primates are considered seasonal breeders, but the set of factors, such as food availability, day length and temperature, that influence the timing of reproductive events for both wild and captive individuals remains unclear. Here, we examine the role of factors in shaping breeding patterns in Rhinopithecus roxellana, a temperate colobine primate. We used circular statistics to describe and compare the patterns of reproductive seasonality among individuals in 13 captive groups and two free ranging but provisioned groups at various locations throughout China. Almost 90% of births occurred in March, April and May in adult females residing in both free ranging (n = 131) and captive groups (n = 407). Births occurred principally in 2-4 months prior to the peak of food availability, while conceptions occurred in 1-2 months after the peak of food availability in free ranging but provisioned groups. Day length (latitude) had a significant effect on the timing of reproduction. However, females that experienced a wide variation of temperature between the lowest and highest monthly average temperature had a later conception date. These results support that day length and temperature might be factor influencing the timing of reproductive activity.
Project description:Vocal individuality is a prerequisite for individual recognition, especially when visual and chemical cues are not available or effective. Vocalizations encoding information of individual identity have been reported in many social animals and should be particularly adaptive for species living in large and complexly organized societies. Here, we examined the individuality in coo calls of adult male golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) living in a large and multilevel society. Coo calls are one of the most frequently occurring call types in R. roxellana and likely serve as the signals for contact maintenance or advertisement in various contexts including group movement, foraging, and resting. From April to October 2016, April to July 2017, and September to October 2017, we recorded a total of 721 coo calls from six adult males in a provisioned, free-ranging group and one adult male in captivity in Shennongjia National Park, China. We selected 162 high-quality recordings to extract 14 acoustic parameters based on the source-filter theory. Results showed that each of all parameters significantly differed among individuals, while pairwise comparisons failed to detect any parameter that was different between all pairs. Furthermore, a discriminant function analysis indicated that the correct assignment rate was 80.2% (cross-validation: 67.3%), greater than expected by chance (14.3%). In conclusion, we found evidence that coo calls of adult male R. roxellana allowed the reliable accuracy of individual discrimination complementarily enhanced by multiple acoustic parameters. The results of our study point to the selective pressures acting on individual discrimination via vocal signals in a highly gregarious forest-living primate.