Faulk Christopher, Walls Carrie, Nelson Brandie, Arakaki Paloma R, Gonzalez Irys H L, Banevicius Nancy, Teixeira Rodrigo H F, Medeiros Marina A, Silva Gessiane P, Talebi Mauricio, Chung Wilson C J, Takeshita Rafaela S C
Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55108, United States.
Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, United States.
G3 (Bethesda). 2025 Apr 17;15(4). doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkaf034.
The southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides) is one of the 2 species of muriquis (genus Brachyteles), the largest body-sized nonhuman primate from the Neotropics. Deforestation and illegal hunting have led to a continuing decline in the muriqui population, leading to their current classification as critically endangered. The lack of a reference genome for the genus Brachyteles prevents scientists from taking full advantage of genomic tools to improve their conservation status. This study reports the first whole-genome assemblies of the genus Brachyteles, using DNA from 2 zoo-housed southern muriqui females. We performed sequencing with Oxford Nanopore Technologies' PromethION 2 Solo using a native DNA library preparation to preserve DNA modifications. We used Flye to assemble genomes for each individual. The best final assembly was 2.6 Gb, in 319 contigs, with an N50 of 58.8 Mb and an L50 of 17. BUSCO completeness score for this assembly was 99.5%. The assembly of the second individual had similar quality, with a length of 2.6 Gb, 759 contigs, an N50 of 47.9 Mb, an L50 of 18, and a BUSCO completeness score of 99.04%. Both assemblies had <1% duplicates, missing, or fragments. Gene model mapper detected 24,353 protein-coding genes, and repetitive elements accounted for 46% of the genome. We also reported the mitogenome, which had 16,562 bp over 37 genes, and global methylation of CpG sites, which revealed a mean of 80% methylation. Our study provides a high-quality reference genome assembly for the southern muriqui, expanding the tools that can be used to aid in their conservation efforts.
南方绒毛蛛猴（Brachyteles arachnoides）是绒毛蛛猴属（Brachyteles）的两个物种之一，是新热带界体型最大的非人类灵长类动物。森林砍伐和非法捕猎导致绒毛蛛猴种群数量持续下降，使其目前被列为极度濒危物种。由于缺乏绒毛蛛猴属的参考基因组，科学家无法充分利用基因组工具来改善它们的保护状况。本研究报告了绒毛蛛猴属的首个全基因组组装结果，使用的是来自两只圈养在动物园的南方绒毛蛛猴雌性个体的DNA。我们使用牛津纳米孔技术公司的PromethION 2 Solo进行测序，采用原生DNA文库制备方法以保留DNA修饰。我们使用Flye为每个个体组装基因组。最佳的最终组装结果为2.6 Gb，包含319个重叠群，N50为58.8 Mb，L50为17。该组装的BUSCO完整性得分是99.5%。第二个个体的组装质量相似，长度为2.6 Gb，759个重叠群，N50为47.9 Mb，L50为18，BUSCO完整性得分99.04%。两个组装的重复、缺失或片段均小于1%。基因模型映射器检测到24,353个蛋白质编码基因，重复元件占基因组的46%。我们还报告了线粒体基因组，其长度为16,562 bp，包含37个基因，以及CpG位点的整体甲基化情况，结果显示平均甲基化水平为80%。我们的研究为南方绒毛蛛猴提供了高质量的参考基因组组装，扩展了可用于协助其保护工作的工具。
