Application of human mini-satellite VNTR probes to genotyping in cynomolgus macaques.

Cynomolgus macaques (also known as longtail or crab-eating macaques) Macaca fascicularis, are an important non-human primate model for biomedical research. Using a case study involving a suspected occurrence of twin birth, we demonstrate that the highly polymorphic human variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) mini-satellite probes D1S7, D2S44, D3S42 and D4S184 can be successfully employed as a rapid screening strategy to complement husbandry records in order to establish genetic relatedness in a captive colony.