dfsdf

Research sheds new light on human evolution and will help with gorilla conservation

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY For the first time, scientists have been able to compare the genomes of all four living great apes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans after completing the genome sequence for the gorilla the last genus of the living great apes to have its genome decoded.

Researchers announced the completion of the genome process last week, confirming that chimpanzee are our closest living relatives, but they also said that much of the human genome more closely resembles the gorilla than it does the chimpanzee genome.

The gorilla genome is important because it sheds light on the time when our ancestors diverged from our closest evolutionary cousins, said Aylwyn Scally, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. It also lets us explore the similarities and differences between our genes and those of gorilla, the largest living primate, said Scally, lead author of the paper that announced the findings.

Using DNA from Kamilah, a female western lowland gorilla, we assembled a gorilla genome sequence and compared it with the genomes of the other great apes. We also sampled DNA sequences from other gorillas in order to explore genetic differences between gorilla species.

The study provides a unique perspective on human origins and is an important resource for research into human evolution and biology, as well as for gorilla biology and conservation.

The team searched more than 11,000 genes in human, chimpanzee and gorilla for genetic changes important in evolution. Humans and chimpanzees are genetically closest to each other over most of the genome, but the team found many places where this is not the case. 15 percent of the human genome is closer to the gorilla genome than it is to chimpanzee, and 15 percent of the chimpanzee genome is closer to the gorilla than human.

In all three species, genes relating to sensory perception, hearing and brain development showed accelerated evolution and particularly so in humans and gorillas.

Read the rest here:
Genetics: Scientists finish mapping gorilla genome

Comments are closed.