Chimp Genome

This is, above all, the issue of the chimp. It is not just the formal publication of the genome and related analyses, which would be ample cause for celebration. By a happy coincidence, the first fossil chimp has been found. This cornucopia of new science is introduced on page 47. Elsewhere in the issue, and in our free-access news service (http://www.nature.com/news), readers can find a range of discussions of comparative genomics, threats to chimp populations, a timeline of chimp research, and an introduction to famous chimps.

Alongside all this progress in chimp biology there are some provocative but essential questions raised about the future of conservation and of research, in Commentaries by Pascal Gagneux and colleagues (on page 27) and by John VandeBerg and Stuart Zola (on page 30).

The chimpanzee genome

Until now, genome sequence information has shown us how many seemingly very different organisms are amazingly like humans. At a conservative estimate we share about 88% of our genes with rodents and 60% with chickens. Applying a more liberal definition of similarity, up to 80% of the sea-squirt's genes are found in humans in some form. So it's no surprise that we are still asking, "What makes us human?" To apply genomics to this quest, we need to shift the focus to look at our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. Given that we share more than 98% of our DNA and almost all of our genes, chimps are the best starting point to study not the similarities, but the minute differences that set us apart.

We are therefore extremely pleased to present this special section to commemorate the genome of the common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes. In doing so, we hope to provide a resource for more than just genomics. We introduce the section with a timeline that charts the history of the chimp. This is followed by four Progress pieces that review recent work on chimp culture and behaviour, psychology and neural processing of number systems, as well as a closer look at brain anatomy and neurogenetics at the single-gene level.

The genetic code of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, has been sequenced and analysed by an international team of researchers.
The scientists say the information is a milestone in the quest to discover what sets us apart from other animals.

A comparison shows chimps and humans to be almost 99% identical in the most important areas of their "life codes".

"We still do not have in our hands the answer to a most fundamental question: What makes us human? But this genomic comparison dramatically narrows the search for the key biological differences between the two species."

The researchers hope that by elaborating those few points of separation, they will also increase pressure to save chimpanzees and other great apes in the wild.

The study shows that our genomes are startlingly similar. We differ by only 1.2% in terms of the genes that code for the proteins which build and maintain our bodies. This rises to about 4%, when non-coding or "junk" DNA is taken into account.