GENOMICS
The development of macaque-specific genomic resources began in earnest after a first-ever Primate Genomics Workshop held in Seattle in January 2001. Workshop participants agreed on the clear need for nonhuman primate genomic resources and a decision was made to focus this effort on the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). As a result, a White Paper was prepared outlining the steps needed to build these resources, including the generation of cDNA libraries for expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing, the sequencing of the rhesus macaque genome, and the construction of macaque-specific DNA microarrays.
All of these resources are now available to the research community. We have constructed cDNA libraries from a range of macaque tissues and, in collaboration with Illumigen Biosciences and Agencourt, generated over 80,000 macaque EST sequences. This nucleotide sequence information has been greatly augmented by the complete sequence of the rhesus macaque genome, and more recently, the complete genome sequence of the cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis). This wealth of sequence data has been used to develop macaque-specific microarrays, which are available through Agilent Technologies and Affymetrix.
As an outgrowth of the revolutionary advances associated with next-generation sequencing, we are currently working with Illumina, Inc. and a consortium of investigators to generate reference transcriptome information for 14 nonhuman primate species/sub-species. This information will be provided to the research community as it becomes available to advance evolutionary, biomedical, and translational research activities.