Neanderthal genome project

The Neanderthal genome project is an effort of a group of scientists to sequence the Neanderthal genome, founded in July 2006.

It was initiated by 454 Life Sciences, a biotechnology company based in Branford, Connecticut in the United States and is coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. In May 2010 the project published their initial draft of the Neanderthal genome (Vi33.16, Vi33.25, Vi33.26) based on the analysis of four billion base pairs of Neanderthal DNA. The study determined that some mixture of genes occurred between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans and presented evidence that elements of their genome remain in modern humans outside Africa.[1][2][3]

In December 2013, a high coverage genome of a Neanderthal was reported for the first time. DNA was extracted from a toe fragment from a female Neanderthal researchers have dubbed the "Altai Neandertal". It was found in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia and is estimated to be 50,000 years old.[4][5]

  1. ^ Green, R. E.; Krause, J.; Briggs, A. W.; et al. (May 2010). "A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome" (PDF). Science. 328 (5979): 710–22. Bibcode:2010Sci...328..710G. doi:10.1126/science.1188021. PMC 5100745. PMID 20448178.
  2. ^ "The Neanderthal in Us" (PDF) (Press release). Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  3. ^ "Neandertal DNA may raise risk for some modern human diseases". Science News. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  4. ^ Zimmer, Carl (18 December 2013). "Toe fossil provides complete Neanderthal genome". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  5. ^ Prüfer, Kay; et al. (18 December 2013). "The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains". Nature. 505 (7481): 43–49. Bibcode:2014Natur.505...43P. doi:10.1038/nature12886. PMC 4031459. PMID 24352235.