Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans. Matthias Krings1, Anne Stone2, Ralf W Schmitz3, Heike Krainitzki4, Mark Stoneking2 and Svante Pääbo1, *, 1 Zoological Institute, University of Munich, PO Box 202136, D-80021, Munich, Germany 2 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16802, USA 3 Rheinisches Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege, Endenicher Strasse 133, D-53115, Bonn, Germany 4 Höhere Berufsfachschule für, präparationstechnische Assistenten, Markstrasse 185, D-44799, Bochum, Germany Abstract DNA was extracted from the Neandertal-type specimen found in 1856 in western Germany. By sequencing clones from short overlapping PCR products, a hitherto unknown mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequence was determined. Multiple controls indicate that this sequence is endogenous to the fossil. Sequence comparisons with human mtDNA sequences, as well as phylogenetic analyses, show that the Neandertal sequence falls outside the variation of modern humans. Furthermore, the age of the common ancestor of the Neandertal and modern human mtDNAs is estimated to be four times greater than that of the common ancestor of human mtDNAs. This suggests that Neandertals went extinct without contributing mtDNA to modern humans.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 19:37:10 +0000