Q21: Nonhuman primate taxonomy/anatomy I: basics

This one is mostly new world primates....

1.  Depending on how you classify them, nonhuman primates can be divided into suborders  based on retention of primitive characteristics (prosimians meaning "before primates" and anthropoids or "resembling humans") or based on shared derived characteristics (Strepsirrhines - from the Greek meaning "twisted nose"  and Haplorrhines - meaning "simple nose").  Strepsirrhines have wet noses and haplorrhines have dry noses. 

• List the superfamilies included in the suborders prosimii, and anthropoidea.  
• Which suborder is classified either with the less- or more- advanced primates depending on which classification criteria are used?

2. Anthropoidea are generally divided into platyrrhines (new world monkeys) and catarrhines (old world monkeys).  Assign the following characteristics to prosimians, tarsiers,  platyrrhines, or catarrhines:
a. May have prehensile tail
b. cheek pouches
c. ischial callosities
d. "toilet claw"
e. largely nocturnal
f. Fissured nose
g. fused mandible
h. Hindlimbs longer than forelimbs
i. Can be bipedal
j. All arboreal
k. All carnivorous
l. Stereoscopic color vision
m. Flat nose with flared nares
n. Require vitamin D3


3. Platyrrhines can be divided into families Callitrichidae and Cebidae.
a. Which family has many CITES listed genera?
b. What does CITES stand for?  What specifically does it place controls on?
c. What is the unique feature of the placenta in Callitrichidae?  What does this often result in?
d. Which genus is often used for malaria research?  Why?
e.  Which genus has naturally occurring atherosclerosis?
f. Which genus was sent into space?
f. Squirrel monkeys are often classified according to whether the hair pattern on their face resembles a gothic arch or a roman arch.  Which species fall into each, and which of these is used in malaria research?
g. which genus has a semi-prehensile tail?  Which genera have true prehensile tails?  What is the difference between prehensile and pseudo-prehensile tails anyway?
h. What is the regulatory impact of brachiation?
i. Which genus is used to study gout?
j. What is special about the hallux in callitrichidae?  And what is a hallux?
k. Which genus gets Vitamin E responsive hemolytic anemia?
ANSWERS
Many thanks to our residents and most recently to Diane for compiling this information!

Who is talking about the benefits of lab animal research?

This week's post is a little different.   Last week at AALAS I noticed a fair number of booths of organizations that promote animal research. A question I had was, "why don't these booths get a lot of traffic?"   Of course they are usually tucked away in the farthest reaches of the giant exhibition hall, but it would seem under the current climate where the reproducibility of animal research is being questioned by everyone from the man on the street to Congress, we might want to pay attention.   So I thought it was about time to feature some web-based organizations that support animal research and furthermore have fabulous websites...

Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR).

FBR has been supporting animal research for a long time, and now has a new campaign called "Love Animals? Support Animal Research", designed to rebut the widely advertised view that researchers are faceless people in white coats who don't care about animals.  Great logo!  The FBR website is easy to navigate - has a counter prominently displayed with the # of people diagnosed with Alzheimers, diabetes, etc. and features recent medical advances accomplished using animal research.  There are a lot of resources on this site, including a BLOG,  information on how animal research benefits pets, an archive of research articles and pages useful in case we need to give talks to schools, such as "myths vs. facts."

Americans for Medical Progress (AMP)

In addition to acting as a bountiful resource for information on the benefits of animal research, AMP sponsors the hugely successful biomedical research awareness day , organized by veterinary "Hayre Scholars" this has expanded from activities in a couple of dozen US vet schools to schools companies and hospitals around the world.  We hosted a BRAD in our hospital (courtesy of Logan France, one of the original Hayre Scholars) and I can say that this was a highly effective method for bringing the message to the public rather than expecting the public to come to us.  BRAD for next year is on April 19th 2018.

Understanding Animal Research

This site brings "openness" to a level not previously seen before in the animal research community by virtue of the UK initiative "concordat on openness in animal research".  The front page features a video about an interactive tour of 4 animal research facilities, including pictures of the animals (including a monkey with a headcap), surgery preparation, and animal husbandry technicians at work.  I particularly like the news timeline on the sidebar - most recently a link to the 2017 Nobel prize in science awarded for how genes control the body's circadian rhythm. A lot of really interesting and useful information for giving presentations here - including the top 20 prescribed medications and how animals were used to develop them (the most prescribed med is a beta blocker, in case you were wondering).  In fact this site contains a lot of novel ideas such as "ask me anything" features where researchers (the most recent one by an Alzheimers researcher) answer questions posed by the public on Reddit (and yes, I had to look up what Reddit is!) and links to videos of animals in research.   Well worth spending quite some time on this site.


Any other websites you know of that should be featured here?

Q21. Mouse Breeding Basics

How much do you know about mouse breeding?   Might be useful one day to know a few fun facts!
Here are some questions you ought to know the answer to.... (and if you forgot - links to useful online references are provided)





1.  Mouse pups: at what age does...

• The milk spot disappear
• Hair first appear
• Ears start to come away from head
• Teeth erupt
• Eyes are fully open
• Eat solid food

Check HERE if you need a reminder

2.  Timed breeding.  How would you time breeding without the use of drugs?   ( there are good summaries HERE  and HERE)

3.  If you need to superovulate to produce many eggs (eg for embryo freezing) the protocol is...

• Take group housed female mice aged _______ days
• Inject 2-5 IU PMSG between ___________(time of day) on day 1.
• Inject 2-5 IU HCG ________   hours later on day _____
• Mate with stud (8 weeks old individually housed)_____________(when?)
• Ovulation occurs __________ hours later.

(And HERE is the protocol)

4.  Estrus Cycle: visual external characteristics (ie vaginal opening appearance) 

• What distinguishes proestrus from estrus? 
• Metestrus from Diestrus?

5. Estrus Cycle: Vaginal smears - 

• What distinguishes proestrus from estrus? 
• Metestrus from diestrus?

A really nice review for questions 4 and 5 can be found HERE

6. Early Pregnancy Diagnosis

• Ultrasound can identify pregnancy as early as Embryonic Day ___  (assuming day following mating is Day 0.5)  Reference 
• Weight change can identify pregnancy as early as day ED_____   Reference

And here are a few easy ones...

7. Delayed implantation generally occurs when ________________________________ 

8. For breeding, always add the female/male to the female/male's cage

9. Gestation generally lasts between ___ and ____ days

10. B6 mouse pups should weigh approximately _____grams on weaning at 3 weeks.


ANSWERS are posted HERE