Semen collection by urethral catheterization and electro-ejaculation with different voltages, and the effect of holding temperature and cooling rate before cryopreservation on semen quality in the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata).

In the Japanese macaque, semen has been collected by electro-ejaculation (EE), using the higher voltage stimuli compared to other species including genus Macaca. Semen coagulates immediately after ejaculation, which makes difficult to produce high-quality semen for artificial insemination. Recently, semen collection using urethral catheterization (UC) has been reported in carnivore and this technique may allow semen collection without coagulation in a less invasive manner.

Evolution of the sperm methylome of primates is associated with retrotransposon insertions and genome instability.

Changes in gene expression resulting from epigenetic and/or genetic changes play an important role in the evolutionary divergence of phenotypes. To explore how epigenetic and genetic changes are linked during primate evolution, we have compared the genome-wide DNA methylation profiles (methylomes) of humans and chimpanzees, which have a 1.2% DNA sequence divergence, of sperm, the frontal cortices, B cells, and neutrophils.

First detection of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in two species of nonhuman primates raised in a zoo: a fatal case in Cercopithecus diana and a strongly suspected case of spontaneous recovery in Macaca nigra.

The causative parasite of alveolar echinococcosis, Echinococcus multilocularis, maintains its life cycle between red foxes (Vulpes vulples, the definitive hosts) and voles (the intermediate hosts) in Hokkaido, Japan. Primates, including humans, and some other mammal species can be infected by the accidental ingestion of eggs in the feces of red foxes. In August 2011, a 6-year-old zoo-raised female Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) died from alveolar echinococcosis.