# Multispecies NHP dGTEx Research Center

> **NIH NIH U24** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $3,216,432

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This is a proposal to establish a Nonhuman Primate Developmental Genotype-Tissue Expression (NHP dGTEx)
Research Center, developed by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC), MIT, the
Broad Institute, and Yale University. This Center will provide a vital resource to the NIH dGTEx program by
generating a two-species nonhuman primate (NHP) resource with numerous benefits, including access to
prenatal developmental stages and a basis for evolutionary analysis of developmental expression programs.
For this proposal we have elected to generate data from two species: Macaca mulata (rhesus macaque), an old-
world monkey, and Callithirix jacchus (common marmoset), a new-world monkey. We will create a tissue
resource of 30 different tissues types sampled across 6 developmental stages in both species, profiling a total
of 198 animals in the process. Using the reference tissue resource, we will perform transcriptome sequencing
and other genomic analysis of single-cell and bulk tissues. To form a robust basis for analysis of RNA-seq, we
begin by generating full-transcript sequencing from a panel of tissues of each species, which will be used for
annotating gene models. For each species we will then generate bulk RNA-sequencing of 30 tissues each from
12 individuals, sampled from 6 timepoints. We propose to use multiome snRNA+ATAC sequencing to generate
a first generation single-cell atlas for each species, covering 20 total tissues, with a special emphasis on the
brain. These RNA-seq resources will be complemented with strategic epigenetic profiling by CHIP-seq and Hi-
C for annotation of functional elements. Finally, specialized techniques will be used to generate data from the
smallest prenatal stages. We will adapt the Broad Institute’s GTEx RNA-seq analysis pipeline to accommodate
species-specific information and biology, and use the resulting pipelines to analyze the bulk RNA-seq and
perform eQTL mapping. We propose to develop a public, interactive platform for the single-cell atlases that
enables exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, and comparison across species. We will use our expertise
in comparative genomics to identify evolutionarily constrained expression patterns and functional elements, as
well as human-specific features, and investigate the relationship of these features to human disease. We will
create a searchable inventory of all NHP tissues sampled in the project, and standardize NHP data types to
match the human dGTEx specifications. To facilitate communicationabout resource availabilityand experimental
results, the Center will integrate the NHP data and tissue inventory database into the primary dGTEx portal to
be generated and maintained by the Broad Institute. The successful completionof the project will create a unique
resource comprising a comprehensive NHP biospecimen repository spanning early prenatal to adult life, and a
corresponding genomic database to be made widely accessible...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460849
- **Project number:** 1U24HG012483-01
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KRISTIN ARDLIE
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $3,216,432
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460849

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460849, Multispecies NHP dGTEx Research Center (1U24HG012483-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460849. Licensed CC0.

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