Genetic characterization of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in Nepal

Abstract

Indian-origin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have long served as an animal model for the study of human disease and behavior. Given the current shortage of Indian-origin rhesus, many researchers have turned to rhesus macaques from China as a substitute. However, a number of studies have identified marked genetic differences between the Chinese and Indian animals. We investigated the genetic characteristics of a third rhesus population, the rhesus macaques of Nepal. Twenty-one rhesus macaques at the Swoyambhu Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, were compared with more than 300 Indian- and Chinese-origin rhesus macaques. The sequence analyses of two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) loci, from the HVS I and 12 S rRNA regions, showed that the Nepali animals were more similar to Indian-origin than to Chinese-origin animals. The distribution of alleles at 24 short tandem repeat (STR) loci distributed across 17 chromosomes also showed greater similarity between the Nepali and Indian-origin animals. Finally, an analysis of seven major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles showed that the Nepali animals expressed Class I alleles that are common to Indian-origin animals, including Mamu-A*01. All of these analyses also revealed a low level of genetic diversity within this Nepali rhesus sample. We conclude that the rhesus macaques of Nepal more closely resemble rhesus macaques of Indian origin than those of Chinese origin. As such, the Nepali rhesus may offer an additional resource option for researchers who wish to maintain research protocols with animals that possess key genetic features characteristic of Indian-origin rhesus macaques.

Hybridization and Stratification of Nuclear Genetic Variation in Macaca mulatta and M. fascicularis

“…As for the Chinese and Burmese rhesus macaques, the Indian and Nepalese rhesus macaques form a unique clade, suggesting that genetic exchange occurs between these populations. Kyes et al (2006) also showed a close relationship between the Nepalese and Indian populations but noted that Nepalese animals were highly homogeneous as observed in the present study.…”

Characterization of the major histocompatibility complex class II DQB (MhcMamu-DQB1) alleles in a cohort of Chinese rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

“…Among the 37 alleles, 27 had been documented before and could be found in GenBank; the other 10 alleles were not documented before and, to our knowledge, should be novel MhcMamu-DQB1 sequences. Geographic differences are common phenomena as far as the polymorphism of MHC genes is concerned [26]. When alignment was performed with nucleotide sequences retrieved from GenBank, 10 novel sequences were identified in Chinese rhesus macaques, which tend to cluster with sequences common to the earlier and current studies on the phylogenetic tree.…”

“…In fact data have accumulated in recent years showing significant differences in MHC genes between these two populations [16,19,26,30 -32]. For example, the MhcMamu-A1*01 allele has been detected in 14 -46% of Indian-origin rhesus macaques but has been shown to be rare in Chinese rhesus macaques [26,30,33,34]. Despite extensive progresses, knowledge about the MHC genotype of Chinese rhesus macaques is still too limited to fulfill its role in biomedical research corresponding to that usually played by Indian macaques in the past.…”

“…Until now, most reports on rhesus macaque MHC genotypes are based on Indian rhesus macaques, and only about 40 MhcMamu-DQB1 alleles with unique exon 2 sequences have been reported [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]; limited information is available on the MHC genotypes of Chinese rhesus macaques. Because of the existence of marked differences between the two geographic populations in regard to a wide variety of aspects such as their morphometric, behavioral, and physiologic characteristics, mtDNA and genetic background [26], and immunologic parameters and immune response to infections [27][28][29], differences in their MHC genotypes might also exist. In fact data have accumulated in recent years showing significant differences in MHC genes between these two populations [16,19,26,30 -32].…”

The Influence of Age and Sex on the Cell Counts of Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Subpopulations in Chinese Rhesus Macaques

“…Chinese rhesus macaques have been increasingly used as a substitute for Indian rhesus macaques in the research of AIDS and other human diseases (11). However, several researches of Chinese rhesus macaques focused on the morphometrics (3) and genetic background (4) differences comparing with their Indian counterparts.…”