Description: The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops, formerly Cercopithecus aethiops) has long been among the most important non-human primate (NHP) models for biomedical research. The dramatic recent growth in the use of vervet as a model derives in part from its recognized utility as an old world monkey alternative to the rhesus macaque, of which there is now a critical shortage for biomedical research. In contrast, Caribbean-derived vervets are abundant, disease-free, small statured, and easy to handle. In addition, HIV research also has an increasing focus on vervets because in contrast to macaques, they are readily infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) but do not progress to disease. The vervet is an ideal system for genetic discovery, which will likely increase its use dramatically over the next few years. Unique among NHP species, the vervet currently offers opportunities for genetic investigation of a wide range of phenotypes in both managed extended pedigrees and large, demographically well-characterized feral population samples. The availability of both types of samples enables a combination of linkage and association approaches. These are complementary strategies which in humans, have now proven successful in identifying loci of large and small effect, particularly for the types of quantitative traits (QT) which can be most effectively studied in NHPs. Making optimal use of this opportunity for identifying variants responsible for QTs in vervet will require a genome-wide set of densely mapped SNPs, as is now available in humans and will soon be available in rhesus and baboon consequent to the completion of their reference genome sequences. Availability of a vervet complete genome sequence will spur a wide range of investigations, including opportunities to develop coordinated projects with genetic and genomic studies of humans and the other sequenced NHPs.

Relevance: ModelOrganism

Last updated: 2012-09-26