Although separated by millions of years of evolution, capuchin monkeys have evolved similar characteristics to humans, such as large brains, long lifespans, and the ability to adapt to significantly different habitats.
An international team of scientists, led by the University of Calgary, sequenced the genome of a capuchin monkey to uncover new genetic clues about the evolution of the species’ large brain size and longevity. They also developed a new research method, FecalFACS (fluorescence activated cell sorting of feces) to generate non-invasive, high-coverage genomes from monkeys living in different habitats to look at adaptation to drought and food shortage.
Recently published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research took place over several years and was the result of a substantial international effort spanning Canada, Costa Rica, Spain, the U.K., Japan, the U.S., and more.
Genetic underpinnings explored
“We wanted to look at capuchins in a comparative context across other primates and mammals to see if we could find signatures of selection on traits that make capuchins unique amongst monkeys, and that are also trademarks of human evolution,” says senior author Dr. Amanda Melin, PhD, associate professor, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology and Canada Research Chair at the University of Calgary.
Scattered widely across Central and South America, capuchin monkeys have the largest relative brain size of any monkey and a lifespan that can exceed 50 years despite their small body size. These features, and their other human characteristics such as complex foraging skills, well-developed cognitive capacity, and dextrous handling skills, make them an informative primate to study.
Comparing capuchins in rainforests and dry forests
By looking at capuchin monkeys’ genome using a comparative genomic approach, including humans and a wide range of other mammals, researchers identified genes underlying brain size and longevity that are under positive selection.
“Although we should be cautious about the biological significance of our findings, it is tempting to speculate that, like in other species, changes to specific aging-related genes or pathways could contribute to the longevity of capuchins,” explains study collaborator Dr. João Pedro de Magalhães, researcher at the University of Liverpool studying aging, longevity and genome biology.
Furthermore, the researchers worked with Dr. Roman Krawetz, PhD, associate professor, Cumming School of Medicine, to develop a new research method, fecalFACS, to recover capuchin intestinal skin cells from feces. The cells gathered through the newly developed technique allowed researchers to sequence high-quality whole genomes by adapting flow cytometry, which is regularly used in cancer research, for a completely different purpose, sorting cells found in primate feces.
Using whole genome sequencing from fecal-sourced cells, researchers compared the genomes of capuchin monkey populations in tropical dry forests and lowland rainforests. They identified local adaptations and divergence in genes involved in water balance, kidney function, and metabolism.
Non-invasive technique
“By putting the monkey feces through a flow cytometer, we were able to pull out epithelial cells that had passed through the gut and use them for genome sequencing. This technique made it much more like working with high-quality tissue samples but from a safe, non-invasive origin,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Joseph Orkin, PhD, who at the time of the research was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the University of Calgary.
Now Orkin is a La Caixa postdoctoral junior leader at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. “Using fecalFACS is a new way to study the population and conservation genomics of wild animals that before was prohibitively expensive and difficult to do.”
Support future conservation efforts
With the creation of fecalFACS, the UCalgary team has established a new non-invasive research method that is cost-effective and will help future conservation efforts through the research of genomics.
“There is a lot that needs to be done for conservation, but as people who study genomics, one of the things we really try to do is understand the genetic health of these populations so we can help to inform conservation management,” says Orkin. “The hope here, aside from our own narrow interests, is that this could be a real benefit for future mammalian conservation.”
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
