The chimpanzee genome: a path for research and reflection
2005/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Sequencing the genome of the chimpanzee. And the researchers have already begun to compare the evolution of the human genome with that of the chimpanzee.
The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is not like any other animal for the human being; his look, curiosity, excites. It is not useless the animal species closest to the human being –it is believed that both species were separated six million years ago–. Therefore, it allows to know better the evolution of the human being comparing the genome of the chimpanzee with that of man. First, it has been observed that the genomes of man and chimpanzee are very similar (with 96% of genome equal) and coding similar proteins.
The first draft of the chimpanzee genome was produced by the Consortium for the Sequence and Analysis of the Chimpanzee (Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium). According to the head of this organization, “the comparison of the human genome with other organisms is an enormously powerful tool for the understanding of human biology.”
In the research consortium, 67 researchers have worked. In this way, several investigations have been published simultaneously. In the journals Nature and Science eleven articles have been published on this subject and, in addition to the investigations, they have given rise to reflection, because it must be taken into account that the chimpanzee, and in general all the great primates, are in danger.
Research includes the evolution of expression and gene sequence of different organs, such as the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and testicles. And it seems that most of the genes have followed the same evolutionary model, the so-called neutral theory (genetic changes in evolution have no positive or negative effects and yet pass to the coming generations). However, the X chromosome from testicular cells has followed another model: positive selection.
Another of the conclusions they have drawn is that in the genes expressed in the brain, there have been more changes than in other organs, and that in humans, these changes have been much more numerous than in chimpanzees. This confirms the vital importance of the brain in human evolution.
