RT Journal
A1 Ebeling, Martin
A1 Küng, Erich
A1 See, Angela
A1 Broger, Clemens
A1 Steiner, Guido
A1 Berrera, Marco
A1 Heckel, Tobias
A1 Iniguez, Leonardo
A1 Albert, Thomas
A1 Schmucki, Roland
A1 Biller, Hermann
A1 Singer, Thomas
A1 Certa, Ulrich
T1 Genome-based analysis of the nonhuman primate Macaca fascicularis as a model for drug safety assessment
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2011 
FD October 01 
VO 21 
IS 10 
SP 1746 
OP 1756 
DO 10.1101/gr.123117.111 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/21/10/1746.abstract 
AB The long-tailed macaque, also referred to as cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis), is one of the most important nonhuman primate animal models in basic and applied biomedical research. To improve the predictive power of primate experiments for humans, we determined the genome sequence of a Macaca fascicularis female of Mauritian origin using a whole-genome shotgun sequencing approach. We applied a template switch strategy that uses either the rhesus or the human genome to assemble sequence reads. The sixfold sequence coverage of the draft genome sequence enabled discovery of about 2.1 million potential single-nucleotide polymorphisms based on occurrence of a dimorphic nucleotide at a given position in the genome sequence. Homology-based annotation allowed us to identify 17,387 orthologs of human protein-coding genes in the M. fascicularis draft genome, and the predicted transcripts enabled the design of a M. fascicularis–specific gene expression microarray. Using liver samples from 36 individuals of different geographic origin we identified 718 genes with highly variable expression in liver, whereas the majority of the transcriptome shows relatively stable and comparable expression. Knowledge of the M. fascicularis draft genome is an important contribution to both the use of this animal in disease models and the safety assessment of drugs and their metabolites. In particular, this information allows high-resolution genotyping and microarray-based gene-expression profiling for animal stratification, thereby allowing the use of well-characterized animals for safety testing. Finally, the genome sequence presented here is a significant contribution to the global “3R” animal welfare initiative, which has the goal to reduce, refine, and replace animal experiments.