Genotyping of TRIM5 locus in northern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca leonina), a primate species susceptible to Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 infection

Background: The pig-tailed macaques are the only Old World monkeys known to be susceptible to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. We have previously reported that the TRIM5-Cyclophilin A (TRIMCyp) fusion in pig-tailed macaques (Macaca n

CRANIODENTAL VARIATION OF MACAQUES ( Macaca ): SIZE,FUNCTION AND PHYLOGENY

为了研究猕猴属的颅骨差异性, 从而探 讨种间在形态、功能和系统分化方面的相互联系, 测定了11 个猕猴种类的77 个颅骨变量, 用于主成 分分析和判别分析。应用巢式分析方法, 分析过程 包括3 个步骤。所有变量根据功能和部位的不同首 先分为7 个单位: 下颌、下颌齿、上颌齿、上面 颅、下面颅、面颅后部和颅腔。第2 步根据它们所 揭示的相似性(具有相同的种间及种内差异性类 型) 合并为3 个解剖区域: 咀嚼器官(下颌、下颌 齿、上颌齿) , 面颅(上面颅和下面颅) 和整个面 颅后(面颅后和颅腔) 。第3 步从3 个解剖区域筛 选出27 个变量代表整个颅骨的形态结构。除了寻 找不同的功能单位, 解剖区域及总的颅骨具有不同 的种间和种内差异类型外, 此过程对筛出研究意义 不大的变量起很重要的作用。上述分析过程分别用 于对雌、雄性和两性的研究。所研究的11 个猕猴 种类间形成了3 聚类。第1 类包括食蟹猴(Macaca f ascicularis) 、戴帽猴( M1 sinica) 和头巾猴( M1 radiata) ; 第2 类包括猕猴( M1 mulatta ) 、熊猴 (M1 assensis ) 、平顶猴( M1 nemestrina ) 和黑猿 (M1 nigra) ; 第3 类包括蛮猴( M1 sylvanus ) 、日 本猴( M1 f uscata) 、短尾猴( M1 arctoides ) 和藏 酋猴(M1 thibetana) 。分别从两性差异、食物、生态、分类和系统分化方面进行了差异性讨论, 结果 认为猕猴种间颅骨的差异性主要是由于系统分化不 同而引起个体差异所致, 即种间和种内存在的个体 差异。在主成分分析中, 这些差异在不同的区域表 现在不同的成分上。在咀嚼器官上种间的差异在第 1 主成分上, 种内的差异则在第2 主成分上。面颅 的情况则刚好相反。这两种差异在面颅后及颅腔上 则被第1 和第2 主成分所平分。这样, 种间的差异 在咀嚼器官上大于种内的差异。种内的差异在面颅 上则大于种间的差异。这两种差异在面颅后和颅腔 上则几乎大小相等。这一研究结果表明, 与传统的 概念不同, 第2 主成分不仅仅表现形态、形状的差 异, 而如同第1 主成分一样, 也表现形态的大小成 分。此研究所揭示的猕猴种间关系部分与Foden (1976 , 1980) 和Delson (1980) 相同。如平顶猴 与黑猿、短尾猴、藏酋猴和熊猴的关系。食蟹猴、 头巾猴和戴帽猴的关系则不同, 并已得到有关分子 生物学的支持, 此3 种可能来自同一祖先并经历相 同的扩散过程。此研究所设计的巢式分析过程提供 了一种很好的差异性研究手段。最终结果暗示在形 态学研究中仅仅考虑某一区域的形态结构是很不够 的, 因为不同的部分具有不同的种间及种内差异类 型。这在化石研究中尤其要注意。

MATING COMPETITION AND INTERGROUP TRANSFER OF MALES IN TIBETAN MACAQUES (MACACA-THIBETANA) AT MT EMEI, CHINA

In five groups of seasonally provisioned Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Emei, males were sampled for wounds as an indicator of their competition for females during about 80 days in the 1987 mating season. Quantitative data on intergroup transfer were collected in a period between June 1986 and December 1987. The young adult (YA) males, the most active age-class in mating activity and intergroup transfer, received most of the wounds. Wounds tended to appear more in the front of body for YA and subadults (SA) than they did for middle-old aged (MO) males. This implies that some of the MO males were more active and aggressive in the fights. During the 1.5 year period, 5/6 of the YA and 5/17 of the MO males made intergroup shifts. Although YA males faced a high risk of receiving wounds at transfer, they usually rose in rank. On the other hand, the MO males transferred more smoothly but dropped in rank. The peripheral SA males, which rarely emigrated in the population, were an active component in determining the wounding rate, and the rate and direction of male migration. Three SA immigrants died of severe attacks made by resident males in 1988 and 1991. Adult sex ratios and their variations were considerably reduced with male nonrandom shifts and better conservation of the population.

PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS OF MACAQUES AS INFERRED FROM RESTRICTION-ENDONUCLEASE ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA

Mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) purified from 25 samples of 6 species of macaques, Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, M. arctoides, M. nemestrina, M. assamensis and M. thibetana, were analyzed to study the phyletic relationships among the species. A total of 36-46 sites was observed in each sample. By combining the cleavage patterns for each of the endonucleases, the 25 samples were classified into 11 restriction types. When data on M. fuscata and M. cyclopis collected by other authors were added to our own, the resultant molecular phylogenetic trees indicated that the 8 species may be divided into 4 groups: (1) M. mulatta, M. fuscata, M. cyclopis and M. fascicularis; (2) M. arctoides, (3) M. nemestrina; (4) M. assamensis and M. thibetana. Our results suggest that within both the fascicularis and sinica groups genetic distances are small between members and that the status of the species within the groups may require further investigation.

Cryopreservation of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) spermatozoa and their functional assessment by in vitro fertilization

Although spermatozoa from several species of nonhuman primates have been cryopreserved, there has been no report of success with rhesus macaque spermatozoa as judged by functional assays. Two Tris-egg yolk freezing media. TEST and TTE. which have: been successfully used for cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) spermatozoa, were compared for cryopreservation of spermatozoa From four rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). The postthaw motility (percentage and duration) of spermatozoa cryopreserved in TTE was much higher than that for spermatozoa cryopreserved in TEST. The function of sperm cryopreserved in TTE was evaluated by in vitro fertilization or oocytes collected from gonadotropin-stimulated prepubertal rhesus macaques. Of the inseminated oocytes. 82 +/- 13% were fertilized and 63 +/- 22 and 39 +/- 21% of the resulting zygotes developed into morulae and blastocysts. respectively. These results indicate that rhesus macaque spermatozoa can be effectively cryopreserved in TTE medium. This finding will facilitate the application of in vivo and in vitro assisted reproductive technologies in this species. (C) 2001 Academic Press.

SEASONAL-CHANGES IN BODY-WEIGHT OF MACACA-THIBETANA AT MT-EMEI, CHINA

This 1991-1992 study was designed to expand previous research on body weight (BW) in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Emei. Data on BW were collected in late autumn (LA) and late winter (LW) in groups ranging above 1,200 m. Over the winter, the BW fell significantly from a mean of 16.8 to 11.4 kg in females and from 19.5 to 17.0 kg in males. The previously reported BW means of 12.8 kg for females and 18.3 kg for males, measured in late spring, are near the center of the annual BW range for this species. In addition, with the sharper decline of female BW (- 32% vs. - 13% seen in males), the sexual dimorphism ((M) over bar/(F) over bar) in BW increased from 1.16 in LA to 1.49 in LW. This finding may be related to differential parental investment by two sexes. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Intergroup interactions in Tibetan macaques at Mt. Emei, China

Data on intergroup-interactions (I-I) were collected in 5 seasonally provisioned groups (A, B, D, D-1, and E) of Tibetan macaques (Macaca Thibetana) at Mt. Emei in three 70-day periods between 1991 April-June (P1), September-November (P2), December-1992 February (P3). The I-I were categorized as forewarning made by high-ranking males (including Branch Shaking and/or Loud Calls), long-distance interactions in space (specified by changes in their foraging movements), and close encounters (with Affinitive Behavior, Male's Herding Female, Sexual Interaction, Severe Conflict, Adult Male-male Conflict, Opportunistic Advance and Retreat, etc. performed by different age-sex classes). From periods Fl to P3, the I-I rate decreased with reduction in population density as a positive correlate of food clumpedness or the number of potential feeders along a pedestrian trail. On the other hand, from the birth season (BS, represented by P1 and P3) to the mating season (MS, represented by P2) the dominance relation between groups, which produced a winner and a loser in the encounters, became obscure; the proportion of close encounters in the I-I increased; the asymmetry (local groups over intruders) of forewarning signals disappeared; the rate of branch shaking decreased; and sometimes intergroup cohesion appeared. Considering that sexual interactions also occurred between the encountering groups, above changes in intergroup behaviors may be explained with a model of the way in which the competition for food (exclusion) and the sexual attractiveness between opposite sexes were in a dynamic equilibrium among the groups, with the former outweighing the latter in the BS, and conversely in the MS. Females made 93% of severe conflicts, which occurred in 18% of close encounters. Groups fissioned in the recent past shared the same home range, and showed the highest hostility to each other by females. In conspicuous contrast with females' great interest in intergroup food/range competition, adult male-male conflicts that were normally without body contact occurred in 66% bf close encounters; high-ranking male herding of females, which is typical in baboons, appeared in 83% of close encounters, and showed no changes with season and sexual weight-dimorphism; peripheral juvenile and subadult males were the main performers of the affinitive behaviors, opportunistic advance and retreat, and guarding at the border. In brief, all males appeared to "sit on the fence" at the border, likely holding out hope of gaining the favor of females both within and outside the group. Thus, females and males attempted to maximize reproductive values in different ways, just as expected by Darwin-Trivers' theory of sexual selection. In addition, group fission was observed in the largest and highest-ranking group for two times (both in the MS) when its size increased to a certain level, and the mother group kept their dominant position in size and rank among the groups that might encounter, suggesting that fission takes a way of discarding the "superfluous part" in order to balance the cost of competition for food and mates within a group, and the benefit of cooperation to access the resources for animals in the mother group. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Responses to seasonal changes in nutrient quality and patchiness of food in a multigroup community of Tibetan macaques at Mt. Emei

Provisioning along pedestrian trails by tourists much increased the nutrient quality and patchiness of food (NqPF)for Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt Emei in spring and summer. In the habitat at a temperate-subtropical transition zone, the mncaque's NqPF could be ordered in a decreasing rank from spring summer to autumn to winter With the aid of a radio-tracking system, I collected ranging data on a multigroup community in three 70-day periods representing the different seasons in 1991-92, Rank-order correlation on the data show that with the decline of NqPF; the groups tended to increase days away from the trail, their effective range size (ERS) their exclusive area (EA) and the number of days spent in the EA, and reduced their group/community density and the ratio of the overlapped range to the seasonal range (ROR). In icy/snowy winter; the macaques searched for mature leaves slowly and carefully in the largest seasonal range with a considerable portion that was nor used in other seasons. Of the responses, the ROR decreased with the reduction in group/community density; and the ERS was the function of both group size (+) and intergroup rank (-) when favorite food was highly clumped. All above responses were clearly bound to maximize foraging effectiveness and minimize energy expenditure, and their integration in term of changes in time and space leads to better understanding macaque ecological adaptability. Based on this study and previous work on behavioral and physiological factors, I suggest a unifying theory of intergroup interactions. Ir! addition, as the rate of behavioral interactions,was also related to the group density, I Waser's (1976) gas model probably applies to behavioral, as well as spatial, data on intergroup interactions.

Mandibular morphometric variation among Chinese cercopithecoids and the unique structure of the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus) mandible

In order to understand how mandibular structure differs among the Chinese cercopithecoids (Rhinopithecus, Trachypithecus and Macaca), particularly the uniqueness of the snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus), we analysed ten mandibular measurements by principal components analysis (PCA), and examined scaling patterns. The results provided by the PCA illustrated differences due to size among the cercopithecoids and the relationship between colobines (Trachypithecus and Rhinopithecus) and cercopithecines, in which macaques (Macaca) are included. Allometric analysis indicated that, biomechanically, there is not a marked difference between macaques and leaf-eating monkeys. This may be associated with the fact that both share some similar ecology and niches in south and southwest China. The snub-nosed monkeys exhibit a significantly more robust mandible, evident in the symphysis, corpus, condyle, and masticatory momentum arm. This supports the hypothesis, based on the study of dental structure, that Rhinopithecus is a unique group in Asian Old World monkeys (OWMs) and has developed some unique characteristics in order to adapt to the tough food available in the severe cold climate of the Plateaux of Qinghai-Tibet, Yun-Gui and Qingling in China.

COMPARISON OF MASTICATORY MORPHOLOGY BETWEEN RHINOPITHECUS-BIETI AND R-ROXELLANA

The masticatory apparatus for two endemic species of golden monkey in China, Rhinopithecus bieti and Rhinopithecus roxellana, were compared with those of macaques, Macaca and leaf monkeys, Presbytis. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the two golden monkey species are distinct. Interspecies allometric analyses revealed that golden monkeys differ in their masticatory apparatus from both macaques and leaf monkeys. The prominent symphysial fusion, corpus, and sagittal condylar dimension of R. roxellana may produce efficient biting force on the incisal and posterior canine teeth, with the heavy reaction force barn on the temporomandibular joint. However, the well-developed bizygamatic width and mandibular height in R. bieti suggest that posterior canine function is similarly prominent in R. roxellana, while incisal function is not. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Phylogenetic relationships of the macaques (Cercopithecidae : Macaca), inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

To study the phylogenetic relationships of the macaques, five gene fragments were sequenced from 40 individuals of eight species: Macaca mulatta, M. cyclopis, M. fascicularis, M. arctoides, M. assamensis, M. thibetana, M. silenus, and M. leonina. In addition, sequences of M. sylvanus were obtained from Genbank. A baboon was used as the outgroup. The phylogenetic trees were constructed using maximum-parsimony and Bayesian methods. Because five gene fragments were from the mitochondrial genome and were inherited as a single entity without recombination, we combined the five genes into a single analysis. The parsimony bootstrap proportions we obtained were higher than those from earlier studies based on the combined mtDNA dataset. Excluding M. arctoides, our results are generally consistent with the classification of Delson (1980). Our phylogenetic analyses agree with earlier studies suggesting that the mitochondrial lineages of M. arctoides share a close evolutionary relationship with the mitochondrial lineages of the fascicularis group of macaques (and M. fascicularis, specifically). M. mulatta (with respect to M. cyclopis), M. assamensis assamensis (with respect to M. thibetana), and M. leonina (with respect to M. silenus) are paraphyletic based on our analysis of mitochondrial genes.

Morphometric analysis of Macaca arctoides and M-thibetana in relation to other macaque species

As a first step in reviewing the classification of the two stump-tailed macaque species, Macaca arctoides and M. thibetana, as compared with other species of the genus Macaca, 72 linear dental and cranial variables of 11 macaque species were examined by morphometric analyses. The results indicate that the two stump-tailed species are the largest of the macaques and although rather similar overall, they exhibit significant differences in the pattern of variation in most of the five skull regions as shown by Principal Components and Canonical Variate Analyses. Euclidean Distances based on Canonical Variate scores indicate that the females of M. arctoides and M. thibetana are more widely separated than eight other pairs of macaque species, and that the separations of the respective males are greater than those of three other pairs of species. These findings are consistent with FOODEN's classification of the stump-tailed macaques as two separate species (FOODEN, 1976; FOODEN et al., 1985). The present results suggest, as other researchers have proposed on the basis of external features, biochemistry and genetics, that the two stump-tailed macaque species and M. assamensis are closely related. The results also tentatively imply associations with M. fuscata and M. sylvanus but these require further study. The findings have implications for the assessment of the various Chinese Pleistocene macaque fossils.

NATURAL FOODS AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR MACACA-THIBETANA AT MOUNT EMEI, CHINA

Natural food plants of partly provisioned groups of Macaca thibetana included about 196 species belonging to 135 genera and 72 families. The macaques consumed mainly bamboo shoots and fruits for about 2 months in autumn, whereas they relied on active or passive provisions from visitors, a variety of structural parts of plants and a small amount of invertebrates in late spring and summer and ate mainly mature leaves and bark for the rest of the year. About half of the species eaten came from the dense herb and shrub layers. This forest-dwelling species shows a distinctive feeding and foraging pattern in comparison with other macaques, explaining why M. thibetana has the largest body weight of all macaques.