A New Rhesus Macaque Karyotype Based on Human-rhesus Synteny.

Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), because of their similarity to humans, are often used to study complex neurobiology and anatomy, cardiovascular disease, and in vaccine development. While the rhesus genome is studied on its own by primatologists, the grand majority of rhesus macaque research is done with the intention of extrapolating the findings to human diseases and traits. As such, it makes sense that the rhesus genome and karyotype be arranged based on homology to human chromosomes in an effort to ease the comparisons between the two, and aide in interpreting data generated using rhesus macaque model systems. Various approaches have been utilized, including linkage analyses using radiation hybrid markers and human microsatellite loci, and next generation sequencing, to create a comprehensive rhesus genome. Here, we present for the first time, the rhesus macaque karyotype adjusted and renumbered to reflect human homology, and to complement the newly completed sequencing data.