Project description:We describe a genome reference of the African green monkey or vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops). This member of the Old World monkey (OWM) superfamily is uniquely valuable for genetic investigations of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), for which it is the most abundant natural host species, and of a wide range of health-related phenotypes assessed in Caribbean vervets (C. a. sabaeus), whose numbers have expanded dramatically since Europeans introduced small numbers of their ancestors from West Africa during the colonial era. We use the reference to characterize the genomic relationship between vervets and other primates, the intra-generic phylogeny of vervet subspecies, and genome-wide structural variations of a pedigreed C. a. sabaeus population. Through comparative analyses with human and rhesus macaque, we characterize at high resolution the unique chromosomal fission events that differentiate the vervets and their close relatives from most other catarrhine primates, in whom karyotype is highly conserved. We also provide a summary of transposable elements and contrast these with the rhesus macaque and human. Analysis of sequenced genomes representing each of the main vervet subspecies supports previously hypothesized relationships between these populations, which range across most of sub-Saharan Africa, while uncovering high levels of genetic diversity within each. Sequence-based analyses of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphisms reveal extremely low diversity in Caribbean C. a. sabaeus vervets, compared to vervets from putatively ancestral West African regions. In the C. a. sabaeus research population, we discover the first structural variations that are, in some cases, predicted to have a deleterious effect; future studies will determine the phenotypic impact of these variations.
Project description:Differential gene expression between WT MARC-145 cells and MARC-145 cells stably expressing Non-Structural Protein 11 of Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome Virus
Project description:Pheochromocytoma, a rarely reported adrenal gland neoplasm in Old World primates, was diagnosed in 5 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and 2 African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) from 3 research institutions. Age and sex were available for 6 primates. Two males and 4 females were affected, ranging in age from 9 to 31 years. All neoplasms were unilateral and, in the cases reporting the affected gland, 4 involved the right adrenal gland and 2 involved the left. Diagnosis was established by characteristic histologic features. Immunohistochemically, neoplastic cells in all cases expressed chromogranin A and met-enkephalin and were negative for melan-A and inhibin. Six of 7 tumors were positive for ?-endorphin. Pulmonary metastases were present in 2 rhesus macaques and portal vein invasion in 1 African green monkey. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of malignant pheochromocytoma in Old World primates.
Project description:Spontaneous cholelithiasis was found in a male African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) at necropsy. Choleliths varied in size, shape and colour. Gallstones were analysed using accepted analytical methods. Results showed that the gallstones were composed of cholesterol and protein in varying proportions. Histologically, the gallbladder showed diffuse mild to moderate lymphocytic infiltration. The etiology of the cholelithiasis in the examined individual remains unknown.