Rhesus macaque: Difference between revisions
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The species is native to northern [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]], [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Vietnam]], southern [[China]], and some neighboring areas. |
The species is native to northern [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]], [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Vietnam]], southern [[China]], and some neighboring areas. |
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It was [[Jean-Baptiste Audebert]] who named this monkey after [[Rhesus of Thrace|the Greek mythological king]]. |
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== In science == |
== In science == |
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== Classification == |
== Classification == |
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The name ''rhesus'' is reminiscent of [[Rhesus of Thrace|the Greek mythological king Rhêsos]]. However, the French naturalist [[Jean-Baptiste Audebert]] who applied the name to the species, stated that it had no meaning.<ref>Jaeger, E. 1972. ''A source-book of biological names and terms.'' Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.</ref> |
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There are several [[subspecies]] of Rhesus Macaque:<ref name=msw3/> |
There are several [[subspecies]] of Rhesus Macaque:<ref name=msw3/> |
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*''Macaca mulatta mulatta'' |
*''Macaca mulatta mulatta'' |
Revision as of 10:47, 3 August 2010
Rhesus Macaque[1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | Cercopithecidae |
Genus: | |
Species: | M. mulatta
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Binomial name | |
Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780)
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File:Macaca mulatta range.jpg | |
Rhesus Macaque range |
The Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), often called the Rhesus Monkey, is one of the best known species of Old World monkeys.
Adult males measure approximately 53 centimeters on average and weigh an average of 7.7 kilograms. Females are smaller, averaging 47 centimeters in length and 5.3 kilograms in weight. This macaque is brown or grey in color and have pink faces which are typically bereft of fur. Its tail is of medium length and averages between 20.7 and 22.9 centimeters. It typically has a lifespan of about 25 years.
The species is native to northern
, and some neighboring areas.
In science
The Rhesus Macaque is well known to science owing to its relatively easy upkeep in captivity, and has been used extensively in medical and biological research. It has given its name to the
The
In January 2000, the Rhesus Macaque became the first
.Work on the
Though most studies of the Rhesus Macaque are from various locations in northern India, some knowledge of the natural behavior of the species comes from studies carried out on a colony established by the
In nature
Inhabiting arid, open areas, the Rhesus Macaque may be found in grasslands, woodlands, and in mountainous regions up to 2,500 metres in elevation. They are regular swimmers, babies as young as a few days old can swim and adults are known to swim over a half mile between islands, but are often found drowned in small groups where their drinking waters lie. The Rhesus Macaque is noted for its tendency to move from rural to urban areas, coming to rely on handouts or refuse from humans. It has become a pest in some areas, perceived as a possible risk to public health and safety.
A
According to Melnick, Hoelzer, Absher, and Ashley, "The rhesus monkey has the widest geographic ranges of any nonhuman primate," occupying a great diversity of altitudes throughout Central, South, and Southeast Asia.
Feral colonies in the United States
In addition to the Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico colony described above, a colony of rhesus macaques was established in the
There is also a notable colony of Rhesus Monkeys on Morgan Island, one of the Sea Islands in the South Carolina Lowcountry. They were imported in the 1970s for use in the local labs and are by all accounts thriving.[7][8]
Behaviour and Reproduction
Like other macaques, the Rhesus troop comprises a mixture of males and females. The troop may contain up to 180 individuals, but 20 is the average. Females may outnumber the males by a ratio of 4:1. The social hierarchy is also matriarchal, rank dependent on lineage to the lead female. Care of young and territory surveillance duties are shared amongst the troop. While females are more or less placid, males are typically rowdy between themselves. The Rhesus Macaque is characterised as a vociferous monkey. Monkeys that discover food will normally advertise the fact by specific calls, though it has been claimed that young or subordinate monkeys will sometimes seek to avoid doing so if their discovery has gone unobserved. Females cycle similar to humans with menstrual cycles of around 28 days.[9]
Mating is not confined to a specific season. Gestation may last 164 days. Females are mature by three years of age, and males at four. The typical lifespan of a rhesus monkey in captivity is approximately 15–20 years for males and 20–25 years for females.[9] These monkeys rarely live beyond 15 years of age in the wild.
They have a reputation as aggressive urban pests. Their penchant for thievery and aggression can make them somewhat dangerous, particularly to small children.
Classification
The name rhesus is reminiscent of the Greek mythological king Rhêsos. However, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Audebert who applied the name to the species, stated that it had no meaning.[10]
There are several subspecies of Rhesus Macaque:[1]
- Macaca mulatta mulatta
- Macaca mulatta villosa
- Macaca mulatta vestita
- Macaca mulatta lasiota
- Macaca mulatta sanctijohannis
- Macaca mulatta brevicauda
Sequencing the genome
Comparison of rhesus macaques, chimpanzees and humans revealed the structure of ancestral primate genomes, positive selection pressure and lineage-specific expansions and contractions of gene families.
"The goal is to reconstruct the history of every gene in the human genome," said
After the human and chimpanzee genomes were sequenced and compared, it was usually impossible to tell whether differences were the result of the human or chimpanzee gene changing from the common ancestor. After the Rhesus macaque genome was sequenced, 3 genes could be compared. If 2 genes were the same, they are presumed to be the original gene.[12]
The chimpanzee and human genome, which diverged 6 million years ago, had 98% identity and many conserved regulatory regions. Comparing the macaque and human genome, which diverged 25 million years ago and had 93% identity, further identified evolutionary pressure and gene function.
Like the chimpanzee, changes were on the level of gene rearrangements rather than single mutations. There were frequent insertions, deletions, changes in the order and number of genes, and segmental duplications near gaps, centromeres and telomeres. So macaque, chimpanzee and human chromosomes are mosaics of each other.
Surprisingly, some normal gene sequences in healthy macaques and chimpanzees cause profound disease in humans. For example, the normal sequence of phenylalanine hydroxylase in macaques and chimpanzees is the mutated sequence responsible for phenylketonuria in humans. So humans must have been under evolutionary pressure to adopt a different mechanism.
Some gene families are conserved or under evolutionary pressure and expansion in all 3 primate species, while some are under expansion uniquely in human, chimpanzee or macaque.
For example, cholesterol pathways are conserved in all 3 species (and other primate species). In all 3 species, immune response genes are under positive selection, and genes of T cell-mediated immunity, signal transduction, cell adhesion, and membrane proteins generally. Genes for keratin, which produce hair shafts, were rapidly evolving in all 3 species, possibly because of climate change or mate selection. The X chromosome has 3 times more rearrangements than other chromosomes. The macaque gained 1,358 genes by duplication.
Triangulation of human, chimpanzee and macaque sequences showed expansion of gene families in each species.
The PKFP gene, important in sugar (fructose) metabolism, is expanded in macaques, possibly because of their high-fruit diet. So are genes for the olfactory receptor, cytochrome P450 (which degrades toxins), and CCL3L1-CCL4 (associated in humans with HIV susceptibility).
Immune genes are expanded in macaques, relative to all 4 great ape species. The macaque genome has 33 major histocompatibility genes, 3 times that of human. This has clinical significance because the macaque is used as an experimental model of the human immune system.
In humans, the PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma) gene family is expanded. It is actively expressed in cancers but normally testis-specific, possibly involved in spermatogenesis. The PRAME family has 26 members on human chromosome 1. In the macaque, it has 8, and has been very simple and stable for millions of years. The PRAME family arose in translocations in the common mouse-primate ancestor 85 million years ago, and is expanded on mouse chromosome 4.
Agilent and Affymetrix have macaque DNA microarrays with 20,000 gene sequences, and they are used in macaque research. For example, Michael Katze of University of Washington, Seattle, infected macaques with 1918 and modern influenza. The DNA microarray showed the macaque genomic response to human influenza on a cellular level in each tissue. Both viruses stimulated innate immune system inflammation, but the 1918 flu stimulated stronger and more persistent inflammation, causing extensive tissue damage, and it did not stimulate the interferon-1 pathway. The DNA response showed a transition from innate to adaptive immune response over 7 days.
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. |
See also
References
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Template:IUCN2008
- doi:10.1126/science.316.5822.215.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "DNA sequence of Rhesus macaque has evolutionary, medical implications" (Press release). Human Genome Sequencing Center. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
- ^ Wolfe, Linda, Cambridge University Press (2002). "Primates Face to Face": 320. ISBN 052179109X.
{{cite journal}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Cite journal requires|journal=
(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/20/090420fa_fact_bilger
- ^ The State | Homepage
- ^ Development of the Morgan Island rhesus monkey col...[P R Health Sci J. 1989] - PubMed Result
- ^ a b http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/rhesus_macaque/behav
- ^ Jaeger, E. 1972. A source-book of biological names and terms. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.
- ^ Science, 13 Apr 2007, 316:218, Special section: The Rhesus Macaque Genome. News: Genomicists tackle the primate tree; primates are taking center stage in genomics, with the macaque serving as an early milestone in understanding our relatives' genomes -- and therefore our own, Elizabeth Pennisi.
- ^ Science, 13 Apr 2007, 316:222, Special section: The Rhesus Macaque Genome. Research article: Evolutionary and biomedical insights from the rhesus macaque genome, Rhesus Macaque Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium.
External links
- ARKive - images and movies of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta)
- Brain Maps and Brain Atlases of Rhesus Macaque
- Primate Info Net Macaca mulatta Factsheet
- Macaca mulatta Genome
- Rhesus Play Film analysis of agonistic play by Don Symons (UCSB) on DVD