The DNA sequence of humans and great apes is remarkably similar. Specific DNA sequences from humans will be compared with the corresponding sequences from chimpanzees and gorillas in an effort to better understand the relationships between these two groups of organisms. The procedures used by student researchers to carry out the project are summarized below.
Detailed protocols are also available .
Purification of Genomic DNA from Cells Cells from chimpanzees and gorillas will be cultured by scientists at Rutgers. Students will extract and purify this DNA for further analysis. The objective of this step is to obtain specific fragments of great ape DNA in large amounts. To do this, a process called amplification is used. In order to propagate the amplified genomic DNA fragment, it is inserted into a plasmid - a short circular DNA that can replicate in bacterial cells.