Emily Allan 42054683
After thousands of years of evolution, have you ever questioned the extent to which modern humans are genetically related to the ancestors from which they originated? A team of researchers from the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany is researching the genetic link of humans to their ancestors dating back almost 40 000 years ago using gene sequencing techniques. Particularly, remnants of Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthals, have been genetically sequenced from remains of skeletons found in Croatia. By comparing the gene sequence of modern humans and Neanderthals, differences and similarities may be distinguished. However, only a ‘rough draft’ of the sequence has been determined due to the nature of these remains, that is, deterioration of the DNA sample, through decay, bacterial contamination and human handling. The ‘Rough Draft’ is only made up of a single sequence from every letter of the genome. Nonetheless, a draft sequence still offers insight into Neanderthal biology and their relation to modern Humans.
Already, the study has discovered that although Neanderthals and early humans (Homo sapien) existed together, it is not evident that they interbreed. This is due to the fact that the Neanderthal genome does not share many similarities with the modern human genome. Some interesting discoveries into the Neanderthal genome include; the inability of the Neanderthal to digest lactose due to the absence of the gene responsible and a lack of a mutation in the gene microcephalin responsible for larger brain size. A lack of these mutations found in the Neanderthal genome suggest that the two species did not interbreed, however some similarities found in both the Homo saipean and Homo neanderthalensis genome suggests that the two species shared a common ancestor. Further gene sequencing will shed light on the subtle differences in DNA between both species, thus determining how closely related modern humans are to our related ancestors Homo neanderthalensis and allows us to delve deeper into the questions surrounding human evolution.
Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16224-neanderthal-genome-already-giving-up-its-secrets.html
