( CNN ) -- The first complete gorilla genome has been mapped by scientists giving fresh insights into our own origins . Gorilla are the last of the genus of living great apes ( humans , chimpanzees , gorillas and orang-utans ) to have their DNA decoded , offering new perspectives on their evolution and biology . `` The gorilla genome is important because it sheds light on the time when our ancestors diverged from our closest evolutionary cousins around six to 10 million years ago , '' says Aylwyn Scally , postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute , Cambridge and lead author of the report . `` It also lets us explore the similarities and differences between our genes and those of gorilla , the largest living primate , '' he added . Read more : Mapping out a new era in brain research . A team of researchers examined more than 11,000 genes in humans , chimpanzees and gorillas , looking for evolutionary clues . Initial findings have revealed that 15 % of the gorilla genome is closer to human DNA than to our nearest evolutionary relative , the chimpanzee . Researchers found that genes relating to sensory perception , hearing and brain development showed `` accelerated evolution '' in all three , but particularly in humans and gorillas . Having the entire length of the gorilla genome now means scientists can start to compare all the four great apes at every position on the genome , Scally says . It forms the baseline , he says , from which to move forwards and really explore why and when our genes and those of the great apes diverged . `` Did it happen quite quickly or was it something that gradually happened ? At the moment we do n't know , '' he said . `` It could have been some climatic change that separated humans in the east of Africa from chimpanzees in the forest -- that 's an idea some have floated . If we can see some imprint of it in the genome that would be very , very useful information . '' Scientists used the DNA of a female western lowland gorilla ( called Kamilah ) who resides at San Diego Zoo . In the wild , it is the most widespread species of gorilla , according to the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) , with a estimated population of 100-200,000 individuals . The majority are found in Cameroon , Central African Republic , west Congo , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon and Angola . Its cousin , the eastern lowland gorilla , is less prevalent ( fewer than 20,000 individuals ) and can only be found in the rainforests of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo , says WWF . The research is published in the science journal Nature .
Scientists have completed the DNA map of an African western lowland gorilla . The gorilla, named Ngala, was born in captivity and is now at a sanctuary in South Africa where she will live out her natural life as one of only two female gorillas left on Earth. Western lowland gorilla population estimated to be 100-200,000 individuals in the wild .