Date: October 27, 2016
Source: Wellcome Trust Sanger
Institute
For the first time, scientists
have revealed ancient gene mixing between chimpanzees and bonobos, humankind's
closest relatives, showing parallels with Neanderthal mixing in human ancestry.
Published in the journal Science, the study from scientists at the Wellcome
Trust Sanger Institute and their international collaborators showed that one
percent of chimpanzee genomes are derived from bonobos.
The study also showed that
genomics could help reveal the country of origin of individual chimpanzees,
which has strong implications for chimpanzee conservation.
Chimpanzees and bonobos are great
apes found only in tropical Africa. They are endangered species and are
supposedly fully protected by law, yet many chimpanzees and bonobos are
captured and held illegally.
To aid the conservation effort,
researchers analysed the whole genome sequences of 75 chimpanzees and bonobos,
from 10 African countries, and crucially included 40 new wild-born chimpanzees
from known geographic locations. They discovered that there was a strong link
between the genetic sequence of a chimpanzee, and their geographic origin.
Dr Chris Tyler Smith, from the
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "This is the largest analysis of
chimpanzee genomes to date and shows that genetics can be used to locate quite
precisely where in the wild a chimpanzee comes from. This can aid the release
of illegally captured chimpanzees back into the right place in the wild and
provide key evidence for action against the captors."
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