Neanderthal genes what do they mean

But African populations seemed to have largely been left out of this genetic shakeup. Now a study, published this week in Cell, presents a striking find : Modern African populations carry more snippets of Neanderthal DNA than once thought, about a third of the amount the team identified for Europeans and Asians. Study author Joshua Akey , a geneticist at Princeton University, was initially incredulous.

But after a year and a half more of rigorous testing, he and his colleagues are convinced of the find. Some 17 million base pairs of African genomes are Neanderthal, the study reveals, which likely come from, in part, the ancestors of modern Europeans traveling back into Africa and carrying bits of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes.

The new model corrects for previous assumptions about Neanderthal mixing, she notes, revealing how much information is likely still lurking within our genes. While exciting, she adds, it also presents an analytical challenge. Yet acknowledging the winding roots of humanity and developing methods that can map out these twists and turns is the only way forward.

In the last several decades, however, the driving question turned to mixing with modern humans. Did these two hominins interbreed. In , with the first publication of a Neanderthal whole genome , scientists finally had an answer: Yes.

Comparison of Neanderthal DNA to five living humans revealed that Europeans and Asians—but not Africans —carried traces of interbreeding. Studies since have hinted at some limited Neanderthal ancestry in Africa, but no one has fully traced these tangled branches of our family tree. Read more about the many lines of mysterious ancient humans that interbred with us.

For a fresh look at this genetic mixing, Akey and his team developed a new way to study the scattering of ancient hominin DNA in modern genomes. All models tackling this question must not only identify shared genetic sequences, but they also have to figure out what makes it similar because not all shared genetic code is the result of interbreeding. Some DNA could be similar thanks to a common hominin ancestor. By setting up a model in this way, these analyses hide potential Neanderthal ancestry for people of African descent.

Instead, Akey and his lab used large datasets to examine the probability that a particular site in the genome was inherited from Neanderthals or not. They tested the method with the genomes of 2, individuals from around the world—East Asians, Europeans, South Asians, Americans, and largely northern Africans—collected as part of the Genomes project.

They then compared this DNA with a Neanderthal genome. The results suggest that modern Africans carry an average of 17 million Neanderthal base pairs, which is about a third of the amount the team found in Europeans and Asians. The result suggests an order of magnitude or more Neanderthal ancestry in Africa than most past estimates. The straightforward answer would be that Neanderthals ventured into the continent. Instead, the data reveals a clue to a different source: African populations share the vast majority of their Neanderthal DNA with non-Africans, particularly Europeans.

Modeling suggests that just a tiny trickle over the last 20, years could account for its current distribution, Akey notes. CNN Early modern humans originated in Africa and started spreading around the world about 80, years ago. As they traveled, they came across other ancient humans, including Neanderthals, who had already populated Europe and parts of Asia.

Some of them had sex and gave birth to children -- current-day human DNA still carries echoes of these prehistoric sexual encounters. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Tony Capra's current affiliation. This file photo shows a reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton right and a modern human version of a skeleton left on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Most living people can trace a very small percentage of their DNA to Neanderthals -- and that likely includes Africans, who until recently had been thought to have no genetic link to Neanderthals.

Scientists have been trying to figure out what, if anything, this genetic legacy means. Research has found links between Neanderthal DNA and fertility, how people feel pain and immune system functionality. Neanderthal DNA may affect skin tone and hair color, height, sleeping patterns, mood and even addiction in present-day Europeans.

What's more, Neanderthal DNA may play a small role in swaying the course of Covid infection , recent research has shown. Read More. The scientists examined a strand of DNA that has been associated with some of the more serious cases of Covid and compared it to genetic sequences known to have been passed down to living Europeans and Asians from Neanderthal ancestors. The Neanderthal DNA strand is found on chromosome 3; a team of researchers in Europe has linked certain variations in this sequence with the risk of being more severely ill when infected by Covid Have a low pain threshold?

You might be part Neanderthal. The study also revealed considerable differences in how common this genetic risk variant is in different parts of the world. It's particularly common among people in South Asia, where about half of the population carry the Neanderthal risk variant. By effectively doubling the amount of detailed Neanderthal genetic information, researchers are starting to more accurately home in on just how much Neanderthal DNA persists in modern humans and where, exactly, it comes from.

Find out about the last of the Neanderthals in National Geographic magazine. Rather than look at disease-related genes, they looked at how ancient genes might account for physical appearance and even some behaviors. Also read about a Neanderthal child who grew up just like a modern human. Dannemann says he and Kelso plan on repeating the research using the new Vindija genome and an expanded Biobank cohort of , people, hoping to reveal even more hidden associations. He expects even more genetic information to flow from labs around the world, rapidly compounding what we know.

The new research is also a step toward solving the mystery of why Neanderthal genes have persisted in our genome over the last 40, to 50, years. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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