Brief communication: comparative mapping of the human estrogen receptor (ESR) and the Kallmann (KAL) regions to the chromosomes of the great apes.

Human and great ape chromosomes display significant concordance by molecular and cytogenetic techniques, which may reflect their common origin. Nevertheless, chromosomal banding techniques did not reflect the syntenic homology at the DNA level, which created controversy and debate. The recent availability of the unique sequence loci-specific human estrogen receptor (ESR) (bq25.1) region and Kallmann (KAL) (Xp22.3) DNA probes have prompted us to search the degree of DNA sequence synteny among chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan by the FISH technique. The conservation of the ESR and Kallmann regions at the corresponding equivalent loci of the great ape chromosomes (5q25 and Xp22, respectively) has provided insights into genome evolution and facilitated assignment of map locations for human unique DNA sequences. These findings are aimed toward developing an augmented framework to determine with greater certainty the pathway of human descent at the single gene level.