Callithrix jacchus is also known as the common marmoset or the cotton eared marmoset. Marmosets are social animals and can create large groups with social hierarchy. They can be susceptible to disease which can quickly spread due to their social nature. As a result of their small body size and distinctive physiology, they are an ideal non-human primate model. They have been employed in research on immunity, reproductive biology, brain function and drug toxicity.

The genome sequence was derived from a total of 6X coverage from a female marmoset originating from the Southwest National Primate Research Center and serves as the reference genome. The C. jacchus genome is distributed over 22 pairs of autosomes and two sex chromosomes and is 2.9 Gb in size coding for just over 30,000 genes.