Cynomolgus-rhesus hybrid macaques serve as a platform for imprinting studies

Zongyang Lu; Jie Li; Yong Lu; Ling Li; Wei Wang; Chenchen Zhang; Libing Xu; Yanhong Nie; Changshan Gao; Xinyan Bian; Zhen Liu; Guang-Zhong Wang; Qiang Sun

doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100436

Cynomolgus-rhesus hybrid macaques serve as a platform for imprinting studies

Innovation (Camb). 2023 May 2;4(3):100436. doi: 10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100436. eCollection 2023 May 15.

Authors

Zongyang Lu^{1

2}, Jie Li³, Yong Lu¹, Ling Li^{1

2}, Wei Wang³, Chenchen Zhang¹, Libing Xu¹, Yanhong Nie¹, Changshan Gao¹, Xinyan Bian¹, Zhen Liu^{1

2}, Guang-Zhong Wang³, Qiang Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, CAS Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
² Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 201210, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.

Abstract

Genomic imprinting can lead to allele-specific expression (ASE), where one allele is preferentially expressed more than the other. Perturbations in genomic imprinting or ASE genes have been widely observed across various neurological disorders, notably autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we crossed rhesus cynomolgus monkeys to produce hybrid monkeys and established a framework to evaluate their allele-specific gene expression patterns using the parental genomes as a reference. Our proof-of-concept analysis of the hybrid monkeys identified 353 genes with allele-biased expression in the brain, enabling us to determine the chromosomal locations of ASE clusters. Importantly, we confirmed a significant enrichment of ASE genes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, including ASD, highlighting the potential of hybrid monkey models in advancing our understanding of genomic imprinting.