Improving on the gorilla genome Access to complete, high-quality genomes of nonhuman primates will also help us understand human biology. Gordon et al. used long-read sequencing technology to improve genome data on our close relative the gorilla. Sequencing from a single individual decreased assembly fragmentation and recovered previously missed genes and noncoding loci. Mapping short-read sequences from additional gorillas helped reconstruct a “pan” gorilla sequence documenting genetic variation. Comparison with human genomes revealed species-specific differences ranging in size from one to thousands of bases in length, including some that are likely to affect gene regulation. Science , this issue p. 10.1126/science.aae0344

Long-read sequence assembly of the gorilla genome