Project description:This report is based on an ongoing study to examine gene expression differences in monkey lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). For this study, samples from an Old World species, vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), were cross-hybridized to the Rhesus Macaque Genome Array (Affymetrix). Microarray analysis was performed using laser capture microdissected populations of individual neuronal cell bodies isolated from the LGN compared to heterogeneous samples from whole lamina. We show here that cross-species hybridization of microdissected brain tissue samples from vervet monkeys to the Rhesus array produced reliable and biologically relevant data sets. We present the first list of genes enriched in the large neuronal cell bodies of the LGN. We found that these cell bodies are concentrated with genes involved in metabolic processes and protein synthesis, whereas signaling molecules including chemokines and integrins were expressed at higher levels within heterogeneous samples. Our data set provides support for a contribution of Wnt signaling in adult monkey LGN. Keywords: gene expression profile
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:Characterization of transcriptomic variation is emerging as a critical tool for understanding how quantitative trait loci (QTL) contribute to complex phenotypes. Human transcriptomic studies are limited by factors such as the feasibility of invasive tissue collection or variable environmental exposures that can be readily overcome in non-human primate (NHP) models. We characterized transcriptomic variation across multiple tissues and developmental stages and between individuals in 59 vervet monkeys from the Vervet Research Colony extended pedigree. We conducted RNA sequencing across early (7, 90 days, and one year) and later (1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4+ years old) developmental time points in 6 individuals at each stage in five tissue types: two brain tissues from hippocampus and caudate, two endocrine tissues (pituitary and adrenal) and two peripheral tissues serving as a source of biomarkers (blood and fibroblasts)
Project description:To identify genes involved in responses to psychosocial stressor, we analysed RNAseq transcriptomic profiles in whole blood of 15 juvenile male vervet monkeys from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts at three experimental time points: day 0 (baseline), day 3 and day 5 of exposure to the stressor.
Project description:Transcriptomic profiling is a crucial tool for understanding growth, development, behavior and predisposition to diseases and the development of health biomarkers. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of transcriptomic assessment of cell-free fetal RNA in vervet monkey amniotic fluid supernatant (AFS).