Creating a Developmental Gene Expression Atlas for Rhesus Macaque Brain

Allen Institute, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of the current proposal is to generate a neurodevelopmental atlas of gene expression in the rhesus macaque brain, creating a unique public access community resource detailing precise cellular level spatiotemporal expression patterns of developmentally regulated and functionally important genes. Understanding of human nervous system development is of critical importance for understanding normal developmental processes and human neurological disorders with developmental components. Non-human primates provide valuable and experimentally tractable model systems for studying brain development with direct relevance to humans. While nonhuman primates have been a major focus for genome sequencing projects, very little focus has been put on studying detailed spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression in the developing or adult brain. A developmental gene expression atlas for the rhesus macaque brain will be an extremely valuable resource for understanding developmental processes in primates.