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From: binkley@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Jon Binkley)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Human/Chimp Hybrids?
Message-ID: <26689@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 21 Sep 90 18:27:21 GMT
References: <999@massey.ac.nz> <6284@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Reply-To: binkley@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Jon Binkley)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
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In article <6284@bgsuvax.UUCP> gagen@bgsuvax.UUCP (kathleen gagen) writes:

>From article <999@massey.ac.nz>, by AChamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove):

>> If chimps and humans are so close genetically, then why can we not make
>> hybrids?  Of course a lot of people say that we can and could.  Others
>> say that there are incompatibilites, but no one I have encountered has
>> been able to specify what those incompatibilites are. Can you?
 
>The chimp and man have incompatable chromosome numbers.  Chimps (as well as
>gorillas) have 48 chromosomes in their diploid genome whereas men have 46
>chromosomes. 

Ah, but horses and donkeys have different numbers of chromosomes as well.
This makes their hybrids sterile, but they are viable.  I don't remember
the numbers and I'll try to find out.  They are off by one pair, I believe,
similarly to humans/apes.  Of course this proves nothing; but differing
chromosome numbers is not sufficient to prevent interspecies crosses.

I'd bet 5 cents that a chimp/human hybrid would be viable, making humans
and chimps, by definition, the same genus.  I also hope I'm never proven
right.

-jon