![]() The fact that all four recognized populations of chimpanzees are genetically distinct emphasizes the value of conserving them independently.' All great ape populations face unparalleled challenges from habitat loss, hunting and emerging infections, and conservation strategies need to be based on sound understanding of the underlying population structure. ![]() Instead, the closest relationships to Cameroonian chimpanzees are with nearby central chimpanzees.ĭr Rory Bowden from the Department of Statistics at Oxford University, who led the study, said: 'These findings have important consequences for conservation. And previous conclusions that Cameroonian and western chimpanzees are most closely related were shown to be untrue. Their analysis showed that Cameroonian chimpanzees are distinct from the other, well-established groups. They compared the DNA at 818 positions across the genome that varied between individuals. ![]() Oxford University researchers, along with scientists from the University of Cambridge, the Broad Institute, the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun and the Biomedical Primate Research Centre, examined DNA from 54 chimpanzees. A fourth group, the Cameroonian chimpanzee, has been proposed to live in southern Nigeria and western Cameroon, but there has been considerable controversy as to whether it constitutes a distinct group. It has the potential to identify the population of origin of an individual chimpanzee or the provenance of a sample of bush meat.Ĭommon chimpanzees in equatorial Africa have long been recognized as falling into three distinct populations or sub-species: western, central and eastern chimpanzees. The study published in the journal PLoS Genetics suggests that genomics can provide a valuable new tool for use in chimpanzee conservation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |