Students compare banding patterns on hominid chromosomes and see striking evidence of their common ancestry. To test this, human chromosome no. 2 is matched with two shorter chimpanzee chromosomes, leading to the hypothesis that human chromosome 2 resulted from the fusion of the two shorter chromosomes. Students test that hypothesis by looking for (and finding) DNA evidence of telomere segments at the fusion site, thus reinforcing the likelihood of our common ancestry with chimps and showing that we all carry the molecular fossils of telomere fusion! Students see how multiple lines of evidence make a compelling case for common ancestry.
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1 February 2013
Chromosome Connections: Compelling Clues to Common Ancestry
Larry Flammer
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The American Biology Teacher
Vol. 75 • No. 2
February 2013
Vol. 75 • No. 2
February 2013
common ancestry
DNA fusion
Hominid chromosomes
hypotheses tested