Immunogenetic studies on the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta): XI use of blood groups in problems of parentage.

A battery of 21 alloimmune blood typing reagents was developed and used for resolving cases of disputed parentage in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). Using these reagents, the breeding records of a large colony of rhesus monkeys were monitored. Among 1263 complete families typed, 46 (3.6%) disputed parentage cases were discovered by excluding an assigned parent. Of these disputed parentage cases, 76% were resolved and the most probable parents assigned. In addition, the paternity of 63% of the infants born into a man-made troop which included several unrelated adult males was determined. The probability of excluding an incorrectly assigned (randomly chosen) male as a father was calculated as 73% when all 21 reagents are employed.