Blood groups : immunogenetic markers in primate animals and their use in breeding and standardization

The importance of immunogenetics for definition and standardization of laboratory animals has been demonstrated by their successful application for breeding of laboratory mice and rats, and in planned breeding of large domestic animals. Among the immunogenetic markers used, blood groups are the best known and generally considered as the most important. For close to two decades, serology and genetics of blood groups have been investigated by this Laboratory in the most commonly used laboratory primates, namely, macaques, (rhesus, crab-eating, pig-tailed and bonnet), baboon (olive, yellow and hamadryas) as well as chimpanzees. Blood groups of many other primate species have also been surveyed but in a less intensive manner. Blood groups of apes and monkeys are defined by standard methods of human serohematology, using both reagents developed for typing human blood and reagents obtained from the sera of immunized primate animals. The presently available reagents define, depending on species, between 10 and 25 blood groups in macaques, 20 to 25 blood groups in baboons and 45 types in chimpanzees. The available blood group genetic markers will be listed and their value for standardization and breeding of laboratory primates will be discussed.