DNA analysis of rural Neanderthals

20 13, 13 In June, an international team led by scientists from China successfully extracted the nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA of Neanderthals. The analysis shows that Neanderthals only carried a small amount of DNA of ancient humans-Neanderthals and Denisovans, which showed more genetic characteristics of early modern people. Neanderthals are closely related to Asians and Native Americans (Mongols) today, but they are genetically separated from the ancestors of modern Europeans (Europa) and belong to different groups. At the same time, it was finally determined that it was an ancient human who lived 40 thousand years ago.

Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology of China Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology have successfully extracted the nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA of a human who lived in an idyllic cave 40,000 years ago, and identified a direct ancestor group member of modern Asians from the perspective of molecular biology. DNA tests further show that Neanderthals are genetically related to many modern Asians and Native Americans, but they have been separated from the ancestors of modern Europeans. Related results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Neanderthal is one of the earliest modern humans living in East Asia. Its fossil was found in the cave stratum of the Neanderthal Cave, 6 kilometers southwest of Zhoukoudian, Beijing in 2003. In 2007, radiocarbon dating was used to analyze the bones of Neanderthals. The results show that the age of Neanderthals in rural areas is about 42,000 to 38,500 years ago, which is 6,543.8+0,000 years earlier than Neanderthals in similar positions. It is the earliest modern human relic in the eastern part of Eurasia.

For a long time, the comparative study of fossil morphology has been the main means of paleoanthropology research. Emerging molecular biology technology has injected new vitality into the development of paleoanthropology. However, the related research mainly focuses on the genetic variation of living population, and it is extremely difficult to extract DNA from ancient human fossils for sequencing analysis.

The DNA analysis sample of the pastoral Neanderthal was taken from a leg bone. Sample pretreatment, DNA extraction and amplification were carried out in China, and sequencing and analysis were completed in Germany. The researchers successfully extracted nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA from human body. In order to distinguish and separate ancient human DNA from a large number of soil bacterial DNA, this study tried new techniques and made a breakthrough, and successfully identified and purified human DNA with a content of only 0.03%, thus making Neanderthals the first early modern man to obtain nuclear DNA.