Genetics / Genomics

Advances in genomics are making it possible to learn even more about lemurs without harming the animals. Using cheek swabs and other noninvasive techniques to collect DNA, researchers are exploring a diverse range of questions from the genetic basis of coat color, eye color and color vision, to the effects of inbreeding and the genetic diversity of lemurs in forest fragments in the wild.

In recent years, Duke Lemur Center Director Anne Yoder has also been working with the Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Center to sequence, assemble and annotate the mouse lemur genome using next-generation sequencing technology. Their work will make it possible to pinpoint genetic links to disease and identify genetic similarities between mouse lemurs and humans.