Lasting effects of Neandertal DNA on gene expression in modern humans

Approximately 2% of the DNA in the genomes of modern humans of non-African descent comes from Neandertals and recent studies have shown this DNA contributes to a number of phenotypes. New research published today Genome Biology looks at introgressed archaic DNA and explores the extent to which it influences modern human phenotypes.

3 Apr 2017. A major insight that emerged from comparing the Neandertal and Denisovan genomes to the genomes of modern humans was that the ancestors of all modern non-Africans met and interbred with archaic humans approximately 55,000 years ago. As a result, approximately 2% of the DNA in the genomes of all non-Africans comes from Neandertals, and in addition about 5% of the genomes of present-day Oceanian people can be traced back to the Denisovans.

A number of recent studies have addressed whether this archaic DNA contributes to phenotypic variation in modern humans. [...] On Biology


* Vídeo añadido a PaleoVídeos > L.R.2.12 nº 35.

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