SMRT technology allows the isolation of individual DNA molecules and the sequencing reaction is monitored in real-time. Their solution was to build several great ape genomes from scratch, using a new DNA sequencing technology called SMRT offered by PacBio. Kronenberg (at Howard Hughes Medical Institute) and Evan Eichler (at University of Washington) wanted to address. These are just a few of the problems the large team of researchers lead by Zev N. As you can imagine, these “humanized” versions of ape genomes severely limit the potential of comparison. On top of that, when researchers built ape genomes, they had to rely on the human genome as a reference to ensure proper assembly. So, the quality and the completeness of existing ape genomes leaves much to be desired. These early drafts are missing many of the area of DNA that underwent rapid changes in structure. “Humanized” ape genomesįor one, they’ve only managed to put together partial genomes (the complete set of DNA) for the great apes. So far, scientists have chosen to tackle it by trying to uncover elements in our DNA that sets us apart from our ancestors, the great apes.īut, the quest hasn’t been an easy one. ![]() What makes us human? Here’s one evolutionary question we’ve been curious about for centuries. Scientists are one step closer to answering the age-old question of “What makes us human?” with new, high quality genomes of two great apes – an orangutan and a chimpanzee.
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