Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Taxonomy of Nonhuman Primates Used
in Biomedical Research
David Glenn Smith
Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology and California National Primate Research Center,
University of California, Davis, CA
Chapter Outline
Introduction
57
Taiwanese Macaques
68
Biomedically Relevant Primate Species
58
Baboons
68
Chimpanzees
58
Sooty Mangabeys
69
Old World Monkeys
58
African Green Monkeys
69
Macaques
59
Genetic Diversity
69
Baboons
62
ABO Blood Groups
69
African Green Monkeys
63
Microsatellite Polymorphisms
70
Sooty Mangabeys
63
mtDNA
70
New World Monkeys
63
Macaques
70
The Old World Primates
64
Baboons
75
Phylogeography
64
Mangabeys
76
Macaques
64
African Green Monkeys
76
Baboons
66
The New World Primates
76
Sooty Mangabeys and African Green Monkeys
66
Phylogeography
77
Phenotypic Diversity
66
Phenotypic Diversity
77
Rhesus Macques
66
Genetic Diversity
78
Longtail Macaques
67
From Phylogenetics to Phylogenomics
79
Pigtail Macaques
68
Acknowledgment
79
Bonnet Macaques
68
References
79
Japanese Macaques
68
Some 25 000 nonhuman primates are housed in National
Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported facilities in the United
States (USA) alone to provide breeding subjects for
biomedical research, the most urgent goal of which is the
development of vaccines. An approximately equal number
are imported annually for use in biomedical or pharma-
ceutical research. It is necessary to identify the most suit-
able species to serve as models for the study of each of
a multitude of human diseases. For this purpose knowledge
of the phylogenetic relationships among candidate species
and the genetic and genomic structure of the species'
regional populations is crucial.
This chapter discusses the taxonomy of the primates
most commonly used in biomedical research in the USA in
INTRODUCTION
The nonhuman primate offers the optimal model for the
study of human health issues, including diseases, disorders,
therapies, and prevention strategies (
Bennett et al., 1998
).
Rodents, from which humans diverged some 70 million
years ago (mya), are often inadequate for this purpose due
to their genetic and genomic dissimilarity to humans. The
development of vaccines for polio (
Sabin, 1985
) would not
have been possible without research involving the experi-
mental infection of nonhuman primates susceptible to
human diseases, nor will vaccines for other viruses and
retroviruses such as HIV be possible without the experi-
mental infection of susceptible nonhuman primate species.
