Scientists unveiled this week a study on the genome of gibbons, small, long-armed tree swingers and close cousin of humans genetically, but still the most distantly related to people among the apes.
"We now have whole genome sequences for all the great apes and, with this work, also the small apes - gibbons," said Jeffrey Rogers, a primate genetics researcher at the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, according to Reuters.
"This provides new information and insight into the history of the human genome, in evolutionary terms," added Rogers, who participated in the study published in the journal Nature.
The study, which was released on Wednesday, found the genetic underpinning for the ability of gibbons to swing from tree to tree at speeds of up to 35 mph.
It also found an extraordinary number of structural changes in their DNA. Changes can be cause issues in other species, but no problems arose during the evolution of gibbons.
The gibbon genome fills the gap between Old World Monkeys, like macaques and baboons, and the great apes, said the study leader, primate genomics expert Lucia Carbone of the Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center.
Other studies have estimated the gibbon genome as 96 percent similar to people, compared with 98 percent for chimpanzees, the closest ape cousin to humans.
Gibbons are critically endangered, according to the study. For example, only 20 Hainan gibbons are left, according to the study.
Carbone hopes the genome will help forge conservation strategies, like plans to assess genetic diversity in wild populations and identify ones that are most at risk.
Gibbons are omnivores who search for food in the high forest canopy, mainly eating leaves, bird eggs, insects, fruit, and birds. Individuals from their 19 species can weigh 11 to 26 pounds.
Their arms are 1-1/2 times as long as their legs and they are bipedal when they descend from the trees.
The study found genes involved in growth and development of the arms and shoulders that have undergone unique changes compared with humans and other apes.
Researchers analyzed the genome of a female northern white-cheeked gibbon named Asia and sequenced the genomes of eight others. They were able to estimate that gibbons diverged from the other apes approximately 17 million years ago.
Gibbons have experienced a lot of structural changes in their DNA known as "chromosomal rearrangements."
In people, these can be disruptive and can lead to disease like chronic myeloid leukemia, according to the study.
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