Revealing the rhesus macaque genome

A new reference genome assembly has identified a huge number of genetic variants in the nonhuman primate model organism, the rhesus macaque. A genome sequencing project undertaken by teams at Baylor College of Medicine (TX, USA), the University of Missouri (MO, USA) and the University of Washington (WA, USA) has identified over 85 million genetic variants in the rhesus macaque. The largest database of genetic variation for a nonhuman primate to-date, the results hold promise in finding new models for genetic diseases. The rhesus macaque genome assembly was first created in 2007 but contained gaps. The latest research applied new...