Capuchin monkey genome reveals clues for his longevity and large brain

An international team of scientists has been tracking the genome of a capuchin monkey for the first time, and discovering new genetic clues about the evolution of their longevity and large brains.

Published in PNAS, the work was led by the University of Calgary in Canada and involved researchers at the University of Liverpool.

“Capuchins have the largest relative brain size of any monkey and can live beyond 50 despite their short lifespan, but their genetic substructure has so far remained unexplored,” explains Professor Joao Pedro De Magalhaes, who conducts research on aging at the University of Liverpool. .

The researchers developed and annotated a reference composition for white-faced monkeys (Cebus mimetic) to investigate the evolution of these traits.

Using a comparative genomics approach spanning a wide variety of mammals, they identified genes under evolutionary selection associated with longevity and brain development.

“We found signatures of positive selection on genes underlying both traits, which helps us better understand how such traits develop. In addition, we found evidence of genetic adaptation to drought and seasonal environments by looking at populations of capuchins from a rainforest and a seasonal “dry forest,” said senior author and Canada research chair Amanda Melin, who has been studying the behavior and genetics of capuchin monkeys for nearly 20 years.

The researchers identified genes associated with DNA damage response, metabolism, cell cycle and insulin signaling. DNA damage is thought to be a major contributor to aging, and previous studies by Professor de Magalhaes and others have shown that genes involved in DNA damage responses exhibit longevity-specific selection patterns in mammals.

“Because aging-related genes often play multiple roles, it is obviously impossible to be sure whether selection in these genes is related to aging or to other life history traits, such as growth rates and developmental times, which in turn correlate with longevity,” said Professor De Magalhaes.

“Although we need to be careful with the biological significance of our findings, it is tempting to speculate that, as with other species, changes to specific aging-related genes or pathways may contribute to the longevity of capuchins,” he added.

The team’s insights were made possible thanks to the development of a new technique to isolate DNA more effectively from primate feces.

FecalFACS uses an existing technique developed to separate cell types into body fluids – for example, to separate different cell types into blood for cancer research – and applies it to fecal samples of primates.

“This is a major breakthrough because the typical way of extracting DNA from feces results in about 95-99% of the DNA coming from intestinal microbes and food items. A lot of money has been spent on sequencing genomes of different organisms. as the mammals we ‘as a result, as natural biologists need whole genomes, they had to rely on more pure DNA sources, such as blood, saliva or tissue – but as you can imagine, it is very difficult to come by studying endangered animals, ”explained the study’s lead author, Dr. Joseph Orkin, who completed the work on this project as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary, and at its current location at the Pompeu Fabra-CSIC University in Barcelona.

“FecalFACS finally provides a way to sequence entire genomes of free-ranging mammals using readily available, non-invasive samples, which can really help future conservation efforts,” he added.