Simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphisms for colony management and population genetics in rhesus macaques (Macaca...

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Primatology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Microsatellite instability (SSR) markers are valuable for population genetics.
• Previous studies have used protein-coding loci, but SSRs offer higher resolution.
• Understanding rhesus macaque genetic diversity is crucial for conservation and breeding programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of human-derived SSR primers for cross-species amplification in rhesus macaques.
• To evaluate genetic diversity and uniqueness across different regional populations of rhesus macaques.
• To identify informative SSR loci for applications in captive breeding colony management.

Main Methods:

• Cross-species amplification of 72 SSR loci using human primers and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
• Selection of 13 polymorphic SSR primer pairs exhibiting Mendelian inheritance.
• Genotyping of 176 male rhesus macaques from India, China, and Thailand.

Main Results:

• SSR loci provided higher estimates of gene diversity (average heterozygosity) compared to 9 protein-coding loci.
• Chinese rhesus macaques exhibited greater genetic diversity and uniqueness than Indian or Thai macaques based on SSR data.
• Six highly informative, unlinked SSR loci achieved high probabilities for parent exclusion (>0.99) and genetic identity (>1 in a million).

Conclusions:

• Human-derived SSR primers are effective for analyzing genetic diversity in rhesus macaques.
• SSR markers reveal distinct genetic profiles for different rhesus macaque populations, with Chinese macaques being the most diverse.
• Selected SSR loci are suitable for robust genetic management of captive rhesus macaque breeding colonies.