Rhesus and Cynomolgus IGH Genotyping Yields Comprehensive Databases of Germline VDJ Alleles for In-Depth Immunological Studies

Rhesus and cynomolgus macaques are important animal models for the pre-clinical assessment of candidate drugs and vaccines. Four main sub-groups are used: Indian and Chinese origin rhesus macaques and Mauritian and Indonesian cynomolgus macaques. Here, we applied the IG gene inference tool IgDiscover and extensive Sanger sequencing-based genomic validation to define germline VDJ alleles in these 4 sub-groups, comprising 45 macaques in total. We observed a significant allelic overlap between Chinese and Indian origin rhesus macaques and, surprisingly, also between the two macaque species, consistent with significant levels of admixture. The island-restricted Mauritian cynomolgus population displayed the lowest number of alleles of the sub-groups, yet they maintained high individual allelic diversity. Our analysis resulted in comprehensive DBs of germline IGH alleles for rhesus and cynomolgus macaques, of which 64% and 79% of alleles respectively were not previously described, thereby facilitating high-quality B cell response studies in these species.