Chromosome 2 Fusion?
(Semi-Technical)
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, November 21, 2025 (Donate)
Introduction
God created apes on Day 6 and man distinctly different on
Day 6. The evolutionary religion doesn’t believe God on this, but have man
evolving from great apes. As genetic studies and knowledge grew there was a new
problem for the evolutionists.
Humans have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs of chromosomes), while
great apes have 48 (24 pairs of chromosomes). This is what we expected if God
created man and apes distinctly. But in the evolutionary framework, they needed
to figure out how, if humans evolved from the ape-like ancestors, did man
arrive at 46?
This is where the evolutionary storytelling begins. Because
two ape chromosomes are “somewhat” similar in structure and gene order to human
chromosome 2, evolutionists proposed that these two chromosomes fused in
a common ancestor. They even renamed these chromosomes in apes (2A and 2B). Thus,
the fusion idea was suggested to explain the chromosome number difference while
maintaining an evolutionary model of shared ancestry.
Creationist Researchers Did Their Homework
The idea that human chromosome 2 formed through the
fusion of two ancestral ape-like chromosomes has been presented as strong
evidence for common ancestry between humans and apes like chimpanzees. However,
the claim is not not that good when you look closely at the observable genomic evidence, particularly the alleged telomere–telomere fusion site, the supposed remnant
centromere, and the functional genetic features found in the region.
I stand with creationists researchers who maintain that the
fusion model relies heavily on evolutionary assumptions and does not correspond
well with the structural and biochemical expectations of chromosome biology.
Evolutionists believe that human chromosome 2 formed
when two ape-like chromosomes fused end to end about 0.9 million years ago,
leaving behind a relic centromere and head-to-head telomeric sequences. This
has never been observed to occur nor has it been repeated; thus, it is a belief
system based in the religion of evolutionary humanism.
Even so, there are millions of nucleotide
differences, multiple gene-order differences, structural rearrangements,
regulatory changes, centromere mismatches, and telomere-structure discrepancies
between ape chromosomes 2A and 2B and human chromosome 2. Millions of genomic changes
in 0.9 million years should throw up red flags even on the evolutionary side.
Evidence Analysis
The evolutionary conclusion is premature, poorly supported,
and inconsistent with what is actually found in the genome. Our objections
generally fall under several main problems: (1) the telomere issue, (2) the
centromere issue, (3) functional DNA problems, and (4) assumptions built into
evolutionary reasoning.
Telomeres
A telomere is a protective DNA sequence made of repeated
patterns located at the ends of chromosomes to prevent damage during cell
division.
A primary, and devastating, problem for the fusion conjecture
concerns the telomeric sequences located at the proposed fusion site. A genuine
end-to-end fusion of two chromosomes should contain a large block of intact
telomeric repeats in a head-to-head orientation.
Instead, the region contains only a small, highly
degenerated cluster of repeats that is far shorter and more disorganized than
expected. These repeats are fragmented, mutated, and embedded within sequences
not characteristic of functional or structural telomeres. Thus, the evolutionary
prediction failed. This level of degradation is not consistent with a historic
fusion event.
Centromere
A centromere is the central region of a chromosome where
sister chromatids (one side of a chromosome) are held together and where
spindle fibers attach during cell division.
During an alleged fusion event, there should be two centromeres
from two different previous chromosomes. Human chromosome 2 doesn’t have
that. So, evolutionists look and try to interpret particular regions to be a
remnant or vestigial secondary centromere.
And of course, this alleged secondary centromere provides a
second major point of contention. Evolutionists assert that human chromosome
2 retains a primary functional centromere and a second, vestigial
centromere from one of the chromosomes that supposedly fused.
The problem is that this alleged vestigial centromere bears
little resemblance to a true centromere, lacking:
· the characteristic alpha satellite structure
· epigenetic markers
· specific sequence organization required for centromeric activity
What this means is that it isn’t a remnant centromere at
all. The region displays only sparse repetitive content that does not match
with the structure of known centromeres, refuting its identification as a
functional remnant of a prior chromosomal structure.
Making matters worse, is that the evidence is not simply a
genomic scar with useless information but contains functional DNA.
Portions of the alleged fusion site overlap with regulatory regions and other
genetic features that appear to play active roles in gene expression. In other
words, it is not useless nor vestigial but proper working and fully functional genes!
From a design-based perspective, the presence of such
function indicates that the region was never a meaningless leftover from a
fusion event but an important and useful part of the original human genome
architecture.
A Fusion Should Have Been Eliminated And Not Passed Along
In addition to sequence-based concerns, there is a huge
biological challenge. This challenge has to do with fixing a broken chromosomal
fusion event and then have it spread throughout a population. This is pure arbitrary
storytelling.
Chromosomal fusions often cause massive reproductive
problems, like reduced fertility, due to mismatched chromosome pairing during
meiosis. For a fused chromosome to spread throughout an ancestral population,
multiple individuals, via dumb luck, would have needed to inherit and reproduce
successfully with the same rare mutation. This scenario is just outrageous and
speculative storytelling.
Evolutionary Framework Assumptions
The interpretive framework surrounding an alleged chromosome
2 fusion is influenced by a commitment to the evolutionary religion.
Similarities between human and ape chromosomes are treated as evidence of
ancestry rather than potentially reflecting common design.
Common design is rather a confirmation of a common designer,
not ancestry. God, of course, being the Designer in this instance which is what
we expect when we start with God’s Word as authoritative.
Conclusion
When discrepancies arise—such as the degraded telomeric
sequences or the lack of a recognizable secondary centromere—evolutionary decay
is invoked as the explanation. This approach puts the arbitrary evolutionary
assumptions into both the interpretation and the justification.
The chromosome 2 fusion argument does not withstand careful
scrutiny. The fusion site lacks the intact telomeric signatures expected from a
true chromosomal fusion, the supposed vestigial centromere fails to match the
structural and epigenetic requirements of a centromere, the region contains
functional DNA inconsistent with being a mutation-derived remnant, and the
population-level feasibility of fixing such a fusion event remains
questionable. These combined issues are a huge problem for the evolutionary
camp. Human chromosome 2 is best
understood not as a product of ancient fusion but as a uniquely designed
component of the human genome.
Recommended Reading:
·
Jeffrey P. Tomkins, October 16, 2013; Answers
Research Journal 6 (2013): 367–375. https://answersresearchjournal.org/alleged-human-chromosome-2-fusion-site/.
·
John Sanford, Genetic
Entropy and the Mystery of the Genome, FMS Publications, 2014.
·
Avery Foley Unraveling the Chromosome 2
Connection, March 21, 2021, Answers Magazine, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/unraveling-chromosome-2-connection/.
·
Jean Lightner, Chromosome Tales and the
Importance of a Biblical Worldview, Answers in Depth, June 18, 2014, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/chromosome-tales-and-importance-biblical-worldview/.
·
Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, Glass House, Master Books,
Green Forest, AR, 2019.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
