Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bgsuvax!gagen
From: gagen@bgsuvax.UUCP (kathleen gagen)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Man vs Woman vs Chimp DNA Percentages
Message-ID: <6284@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Date: 21 Sep 90 13:23:19 GMT
References: <999@massey.ac.nz>
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Lines: 19

From article <999@massey.ac.nz>, by AChamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove):
> Over the past few years, there has been a lot of debate on the following
> question: 
> 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.  It is thought that human chromosome 2 (a metacentric chromosome
having two chromosome arms) was formed through the fusion of two acrocentric
(one armed) chromosomes.  The evidence for this is cytogenetic. It is based
on banding patterns and the identification of specific genes to the same
band on homologous arms of the human, chimp, and gorilla chromosomes.

References will be provided upon request.

Kathi