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Chimps throw new light on DNA
Scientists looking into a specific kind of DNA are getting help from chimpanzees trained to work with researchers, a university has revealed.
The new research comes as the University of Leicester approaches the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, this Thursday.
Experts at the university enlisted the help of the primates at nearby Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire, to continue studies. While some samples were taken from chimps while they had been anaesthetised for routine vet procedures, the primate experts at the zoo suggested the animals could actually be trained to co-operate.
Dr Richard Badge, of the university's Department of Genetics, is studying "mobile DNA" in the genomes of humans and other primates. While most genes are found in the same place in the genomes, some move throughout the genome during evolution.
The research will also allow zoo keepers to find out which chimps the males are mating with, who their parents are, which will help the zoo's breeding programme.
Dr Badge said: "The reason we are interested in chimpanzees is that the main type of mobile DNA in their genome apparently moves much more frequently than ours, despite the fact that these mobile DNAs are very, very similar.
"The chimpanzees at Twycross are very valuable because not only do they include unrelated chimpanzees, they also have small family groups where the relationships between the individuals is known. This enables us to observe the difference between individuals in terms of their mobile DNA and say something about the process of movement, which is not really understood in detail."
Twycross's training co-ordinator Kris Hern said some of them took better to it than others.
"Once the chimps learnt to open their mouths on cue they were desensitised to the DNA wand and by using this technique, the chimps allowed the swabs to be taken," she added. "The training sessions with the chimps is voluntary and the chimps find them mentally and physically stimulating."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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