[SEU News Network, July 19th] On July 12th, Prof. Li Liming from the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at SEU School of Medicine, or Key Laboratory of Developmental and Disease-related Genes of the Ministry of Education, and Prof. Joshua Akey from the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, published a research article in Science titled Recurrent gene flow between Neanderthals and modern humans over the past 200,000 years. This article reports the latest progress in genetic exchanges between Neanderthals and modern humans.
In recent years, research on ancient DNA has confirmed the gene flow between modern humans and the now-extinct Neanderthals. Most previous studies have focused primarily on the genetic contribution of Neanderthals to modern human populations, with a lack of understanding regarding the genetic contribution of modern humans to Neanderthals.
This study utilized the genomes of 2,000 modern humans, three Neanderthals, and one Denisovan to map the gene flow among different hominins populations over the past 200,000 years. By simulating complex gene flow patterns between modern humans and Neanderthals, the study identified modern human DNA within the Neanderthal genome and estimated that the Neanderthal population size was about 20% lower than previously thought. It also suggested the possibility of two gene flows from modern humans to Neanderthals. These findings support the hypothesis that Neanderthals were assimilated by modern humans that is, the Neanderthal population gradually decreased over time and ultimately integrated into the modern human gene pool in the admixture with modern humans, who dominated the population around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
This study has revealed the complex history of gene flow between early modern humans and the Neanderthal populations, providing strong genetic evidence for the hypothesis that the Neanderthals were assimilated by modern humans.
The first author of this article is Prof. Li Liming from the School of Medicine at Southeast University, and the corresponding author is Prof. Joshua Akey from Princeton University.
Submitted by: SEU News Network
Translated by: Melody Zhang
Reviewed by: Ma Xingcheng
Edited by: Ding Yujia
For reprint or any commercial/public use, please contact us.
