Callithrix jacchus (the common marmoset)

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is an important primate model system widely used in biomedical research [ 1. Okano H. et al. The common marmoset as a novel animal model system for biomedical and neuroscience research applications. Semin. Fetal Neonatal Med. 2012; 17: 336-340 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (156) Google Scholar ]. A recent study has produced the diploid genomes of this species with two sets of chromosomes fully phased using a trio binning approach [ 2. Koren S. et al. De novo assembly of haplotype-resolved genomes with trio binning. Nat. Biotechnol. 2018; 36: 1174-1182 Crossref Scopus (183) Google Scholar ]. Comparison of the paternal and maternal genomes has identified all spectra of heterozygosity and has shown that the heterozygosity level of the diploid genome is ten times higher than the traditional estimation with single nucleotide variations only. The diploid assembly also presents the X and Y chromosomes; comparison of which has revealed a recent expansion of the sex differentiation regions in the Y chromosome that occur specifically in the marmoset lineage. Comparison of the genes related to brain development and neurodegenerative diseases between humans and common marmosets shows that the majority of brain genes are highly conserved between the two species in both sequence identity and copy numbers, which justifies the usage of the common marmoset as a brain research model.