A complete genome for the common marmoset.

Authors

• Prajna Hebbar
• Tamara Potapova
• Hailey Loucks
• Karina Ray
• Murillo F Rodrigues
• Fedor Ryabov
• Joanna Malukiewicz
• DongAhn Yoo
• Leonardo Gomes de Lima
• Annat Haber, The Jackson LaboratoryFollow
• Sonal Kumar, The Jackson LaboratoryFollow
• Swati Banerjee
• Matthew Borchers
• Gage H Garcia
• Joshua Gardner
• Stephanie Hachem
• Harrison D Heath
• Seung Kwon Ha
• Mira Mastoras
• Brandy McNulty
• Julian Menendez
• Katherine M Munson
• Karol Pal
• JungEun Park
• Simon Plösch
• Christian Roos
• William E Seligmann
• Valery Shepelev
• Catrina Spruce, The Jackson LaboratoryFollow
• Ivo Violich
• Lutz Walter
• Kateryna D Makova
• Amantha Thathiah
• Stacey J Sukoff Rizzo
• Afonso C Silva
• Gregory W. Carter, The Jackson LaboratoryFollow
• Karen H Miga
• Evan E Eichler
• Donald F Conrad
• Jennifer L Gerton
• Ivan A Alexandrov
• Benedict Paten

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-6-2026

Original Citation

Hebbar P, Potapova T, Loucks H, Ray K, Rodrigues M, Ryabov F, Malukiewicz J, Yoo D, Gomes de Lima L, Haber A, Kumar S, Banerjee S, Borchers M, Garcia G, Gardner J, Hachem S, Heath H, Ha S, Mastoras M, McNulty B, Menendez J, Munson K, Pal K, Park J, Plösch S, Roos C, Seligmann W, Shepelev V, Spruce C, Violich I, Walter L, Makova K, Thathiah A, Sukoff Rizzo S, Silva A, Carter GW, Miga K, Eichler E, Conrad D, Gerton J, Alexandrov I, Paten B. A complete genome for the common marmoset. Cell. 2026 Aug 6;189(16):4891-908.e12.

Keywords

JMG, Animals, Callithrix, Genome, Centromere, Telomere, Evolution, Molecular, Humans, Female, DNA, Satellite

JAX Source

Cell. 2026 Aug 6;189(16):4891-908.e12.

ISSN

1097-4172

PMID

42561915

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.017

Abstract

The common marmoset is a New World monkey widely used to study primate evolution and human disease. We present a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) reference assembly for the species, plus three near-T2T haplotypes. These resolve previously inaccessible regions, including the centromeres, sex chromosomes, subterminal satellites, acrocentric chromosomes, and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). We find marmoset centromeres carry dimeric alpha satellites with chromosomal specificity, flanked by inactive layers interpreted as ancestral centromere remnants. We assemble gene-poor, satellite-rich short arms of the acrocentrics and find that most can harbor rDNA and all share pseudo-homolog regions (PHRs). PHR-sharing chromosomes also share closely related centromeric satellites, consistent with a model of ongoing rDNA-facilitated recombinational exchange between heterologous chromosomes. We further identify over 500 marmoset-lineage-specific transcribed genes with previously unknown transcript models or expansions. These resources, along with a preliminary pangenome, improve the utility of the marmoset as a model organism and address gaps in primate genome evolution.