Scientists Map Hotspots for Genetic Exchange in Chimpanzees

ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2012) — Scientists at the University of Oxford and the University of Chicago have constructed the world's first genetic map in chimpanzees of recombination -- the exchange of genetic material within a chromosome that makes us all unique. The study, published March 15 in ScienceExpress, shows surprising differences compared to how the process occurs in the human genome. 

Recombination is a biological process that shuffles parental DNA during the production of sperm and eggs. This fundamental process is shared by almost every form of life -- without shuffling, we would all be genetically identical. Natural selection operates on this diversity to drive the 'survival of the fittest', selecting advantageous genetic profiles.

The project to investigate how recombination has evolved in recent human and primate history was led by Professors Gil McVean, and Peter Donnelly from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, and Dr Molly Przeworski from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. To study this evolution, they sequenced the entire genomes of ten western chimpanzees and identified differences between their DNA sequences.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120315145413.htm