Re: Can humans interbreed with Chimpanzees?

Posted by Thermus aquaticus on Jun 02, 2003 at 11:53
(213.140.29.38)

Re: Can humans interbreed with Chimpanzees? (Chimp)


>>However, can we use cloning techniques to make a human/chimp hybrid?

No. It’s been seven years since Dolly was cloned by nuclear transfer, but still few people seem to understand how this technique works. It works by transferring the nucleus of the donor cell into an enucleated egg cell. The resulting embryo is, therefore, genetically identical to the donor organism (in terms of its nuclear genome). It has been demonstrated a few times that it is possible to use the nucleus from one species and an egg from another species. So it might be possible to clone a human using a chimp ovum, or to clone a chimp using a human ovum. But the resulting embryo is going to be a human with a 100% human genome, or a chimp with a 100% chimp genome respectively. This process does not create some sort of hybrid that is a mix of chimp and human genes.

At least, not with respect to the nuclear genome. The mitochondrial genome is another matter. It has been shown that the mitochondria of the recipient ovum remain after the extraction of the nucleus. Thus, “clones” produced by nuclear transfer are not true clones as they have nuclear genes from the donor and mitochondrial genes from the recipient organism. So in a sense, you might be able to make a chimp/human hybrid that had a human nuclear genome and a chimp mitochondrial genome, or visa versa. There’s no guarantee that such a hybrid would be viable.


>>Can we bring back to live Australopithicus?

Only if you have live Australopithecus cells that were stored frozen in liquid nitrogen. (In other words, the answer is no.) With current technology, it is only possible to clone mammals from live cells, or live cells that have been frozen in liquid N2. This is the only way to ensure a pristine undamaged nuclear genome. Any other method of storage does not prevent degradation of the DNA. The DNA is still good enough for molecular biological analysis, but not for cloning a new organism. Thus, it is not possible with current technology to clone mammoths from Siberian tundra, Egyptian mummies, men from peat bogs or the Italian Alps, or Tasmanian Tigers in jars of ethanol. It may be possible in the near future to repair a genome that has undergone slight damage, but that’s still science fiction at the moment.



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