Hybrid origin of a primate, the gray snub-nosed monkey.

RATIONALE: The snub-nosed monkey genus Rhinopithecus comprises five allopatric and morphologically differentiated species, the black-white snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti, the black snub-nosed monkey Rhino-pithecus strykeri, the golden snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus roxellana, the gray snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus brelichi, and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus avunculus. Alleles of these genes were alternately inherited from each parent, likely producing the mosaic coat coloration of the hybrid monkey and promoting premating reproductive isolation of the hybrid species from both parents. To examine the speciation histories of these species, we generated a chromosome-level high-quality reference genome assembly for the black-white snub-nosed monkey and analyzed 106 resequenced genomes of individuals from all five species. [Extracted from the article]