![]() ![]() ĭistribution timeline of New World monkey publications in the last fifty years. In addition, New World monkeys do not naturally harbor herpes B virus ( Herpesvirus simiae), alleviating some biosafety concerns relative to Old World species. This helps enable the study of aging and age-related illness in these primate models and improves the feasibility of longitudinal studies. Marmosets also have shorter lifespans, averaging about six years with a maximum of 15 years in captivity. Generally, New World monkeys also have high reproductive efficiency and reach sexual maturity as early as 12 to 13 months, although squirrel monkeys do not sexually mature until 30 months. A small body size also allows more easily for social group housing and makes the implementation of enrichment programs more manageable for researchers and facilities managers. Their size also reduces feeding costs and lessens the square-footage required to house them, which lowers caging costs. In pharmacological research, smaller body sizes decrease the costs of compound synthesis. Relative to Old World primates, the reduced body mass of New World monkeys brings particular advantages. Historically non-human primates, including the New World monkeys, have been used across a varied and complex field of research, encompassing infectious disease, neuroscience, drug development, reproductive biology, and behavioral sciences ( Figure 1). We believe that with the recently released marmoset genome and pending release of the squirrel monkey genome, these and other New World monkeys will become more important and more commonly used in biomedical research. The most commonly used New World monkey species today, the common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus) and the squirrel monkey ( Saimiri sp.), are smaller and easier to manage than their Old World brethren and have shorter generational times. One potential solution to these shortages is increasing the availability of New World species. The cost of maintaining non-human primate colonies is high, however, and available resources are strained under constant pressure by both the growing demands of scientists and increasingly restricted facilities and support. Traditionally, Old World monkeys have been the primary non-human primate model, both for historical reasons of access as well as evolutionary proximity. Primate models, because of their greater genetic, behavioral, and physiological similarities to humans ameliorate some of these issues. This is particularly true for neuropsychiatric disorders and infectious diseases. Rodents, the most extensively used animal models, present difficulties both in accurately representing the disease under study as well as predicting the response to treatment in humans. New World primates can make ideal translational models for research, but scientists must necessarily incorporate complete understandings of their genetic and phenotypic differences from humans and other model organisms.Īnimal models are an important tool for biomedical research, but establishing animal models of human disease is inundated with challenges. Common marmosets in particular have significantly reduced diversity at the major histocompatibility complex loci and are born as hematopoietic chimeras. ![]() Although numerous commonalities across primate species exist, there are also important genetic and reproductive differences that can and should play a critical role in selecting appropriate animal models. New World monkeys offer attractive advantages over Old World species including cheaper and simpler husbandry while still maintaining a greater evolutionary proximity to humans than other animal models. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in New World monkeys within the biomedical research community, driven both by the sequencing of the common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus) genome as well as a growing demand for alternatives to Old World primates. ![]()
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