"This gives us some insight into the genetic diversity that's going on between chimp and human and identifies regions that contain genes that have undergone very rapid genomic changes." Mutations
Chimpanzee vs human code#
"If genetic code is a book, what we found is that entire pages of the book duplicated in one species but not the other," said Eichler. "The goal is to answer the basic question: What makes us humans?" said Eichler.Įichler and his colleagues found that the human and chimp sequences differ by only 1.2 percent in terms of single-nucleotide changes to the genetic code.īut 2.7 percent of the genetic difference between humans and chimps are duplications, in which segments of genetic code are copied many times in the genome. The vast majority of those differences are not biologically significant, but researchers were able to identify a couple thousand differences that are potentially important to the evolution of the human lineage. These classes include genes involved in the perception of sound, transmission of nerve signals, and the production of sperm.ĭespite the similarities in human and chimp genomes, the scientists identified some 40 million differences among the three billion DNA molecules, or nucleotides, in each genome. Scientists also discovered that some classes of genes are changing unusually quickly in both humans and chimpanzees, as compared with other mammals. The number of genetic differences between humans and chimps is ten times smaller than that between mice and rats. Clint died last year from heart failure at the relatively young age of 24.Ī comparison of Clint's genetic blueprints with that of the human genome shows that our closest living relatives share 96 percent of our DNA. To map the chimp genome, researchers used DNA from the blood of a male common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) named Clint, who lived at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Sixty-seven researchers co-authored the study, which is detailed tomorrow in the journal Nature. The project was conducted by an international group of scientists called the Chimp Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. "But they're going to find suggestions for where to look." "If people are asking what makes us human, they're not going to find a smoking gun ," said Evan Eichler, a genome scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle who was part of the research team. These sequences may hold the most promise for determining what creates human-specific traits such as speech. The breakthrough will aid scientists in their mission to learn what sets us apart from other animals.īy comparing human and chimpanzee genomes, the researchers have identified several sequences of genetic code that differ between human and chimp.
"We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament."īecause chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, the chimp genome is the most useful key to understanding human biology and evolution, next to the human genome itself. "Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes-he didn't go far enough," said Frans de Waal, a primate scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Scientists have sequenced the genome of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 96 percent similar to the great ape species.
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