"Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are the relics of ancient viral infections preserved in our DNA. Many ERV insertion points are located in exactly the same position on our genome as on the chimpanzee genome! There are two explanations for these perfectly matched ERV locations. Either it is a nearly impossible coincidence that endogenous retroviruses just by chance were inserted in exactly the same location in our genomes, or chimps and humans share a common ancestor. The probability that an endogenous retrovirus was inserted at the exact same location is roughly 0.00003 percent. Chimps and humans share at least 7 instances of endogenous retroviruses inserted at a perfectly matched location.
This would mean there is at least a l99.9999999999999999999999999999 percent likelihood that it was a shared common ancestor between chimps and humans that became infected, and both chimps and humans inherited these ERVs."
"Specific examples from comparative physiology and biochemistry strongly suggest chimps and humans share a common ancestry."
Chromosome 2 in humans
Main article: Chromosome 2 (human)
Further information: Chimpanzee Genome Project § Genes of the Chromosome 2 fusion site
A fusion of ancestral chromosomes left distinctive remnants of telomeres, and a vestigial centromere.
Evidence for the evolution of Homo sapiens from a common ancestor with chimpanzees is found in the number of chromosomes in humans as compared to all other members of Hominidae. All Hominidae have 24 pairs of chromosomes, except humans, who have only 23 pairs. Human chromosome 2 is a result of an end-to-end fusion of two ancestral chromosomes.
The evidence for this includes:
The correspondence of chromosome 2 to two ape chromosomes. The closest human relative, the common chimpanzee, has near-identical DNA sequences to human chromosome 2, but they are found in two separate chromosomes. The same is true of the more distant gorilla and orangutan.
The presence of a vestigial centromere. Normally a chromosome has just one centromere, but in chromosome 2 there are remnants of a second centromere.
The presence of vestigial telomeres. These are normally found only at the ends of a chromosome, but in chromosome 2 there are additional telomere sequences in the middle.
Chromosome 2 thus presents strong evidence in favor of the common descent of humans and other apes. According to J. W. Ijdo, "We conclude that the locus cloned in cosmids c8.1 and c29B is the relic of an ancient telomere-telomere fusion and marks the point at which two ancestral ape chromosomes fused to give rise to human chromosome 2."
Origin of human chromosome 2: an ancestral telomere-telomere fusion. - NASA/ADS (harvard.edu)
Ijdo, J. W.; Baldini, A; Ward, DC; Reeders, ST; Wells, RA (1991).
"Origin of human chromosome 2: an ancestral telomere-telomere fusion".
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 88 (20): 9051–5.
Bibcode:
1991PNAS...88.9051I.
doi:
10.1073/pnas.88.20.9051.
PMC 52649.
PMID 1924367.