Web address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/
100325100848.htm
New Human Species Discovered: Mitochondrial Genome of Previously Unknown
Hominins from Siberia Decoded
ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2010) An international team of researchers from the
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has sequenced
ancient mitochondrial DNA from a finger bone of a female found in southern
Siberia. She comes from a previously unknown human species, which lived about
48,000 to 30,000 years ago in the Altai Mountains in Central Asia.
The mitochondrial genome that was inherited from the mother and passed on to
the descendants is an indication of a new wave of emigration from Africa. It
differs from the Homo erectus ancestors of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens,
according to a study published in the journal Nature.
The first group of hominins, which left Africa about 1.9 million years ago, was
Homo erectus. Archaeological findings and genetic data suggest that at least
two other groups subsequently left Africa: First, about 500,000 to 300,000
years ago, the ancestors of Neanderthals. After that, 50,000 years ago,
anatomically modern humans. Direct descendants of Homo erectus could have
survived until less than 100,000 years ago in Indonesia. Earlier
representatives of Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis lived in northern
latitudes -- for example, more than 125,000 years in the Altai Mountains in
southern Siberia. Neanderthals also lived at that time in Siberia.
Johannes Krause, Svante Pääbo and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig have now sequenced mitochondrial DNA from
a tiny piece of a finger bone. The bone was found 2008 in the Denisova Cave in
the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. They compared the ancient DNA from the
mitochondria, the "power plants of the cell," with the mitochondrial DNA of
Neanderthals and living humans. It turned out that the mitochondrial DNA of the
hominins from South Siberia differs markedly from that of all previously known
hominins.
As shown by a detailed analysis of the mitochondrial genome, these hominins
shared a common ancestor with modern humans and Neanderthals about 1.0 million
years ago. In addition, the age of the fossil suggests that these unknown
people in Southern Siberia lived close in time and space with Neanderthals as
well as with modern humans.
Editor's Note: The above information has been adapted from a news release,
originally written in German
(http://www.mpg.de/bilderBerichteDokumente/dokumentation/pressemitteilungen/2010/pressemitteilung201003232/presselogin/)
and translated into English via Google Translate (http://translate.google.com).
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily
staff) from materials provided by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology.
Journal References:
1. Johannes Krause, Qiaomei Fu, Jeffrey M. Good, Bence Viola, Michael V.
Shunkov, Anatoli P. Derevianko, Svante Pääbo. The complete mitochondrial DNA
genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia. Nature, 2010; DOI:
10.1038/nature08976
2. Terence A. Brown. Human evolution: Stranger from Siberia. Nature, 2010;
DOI: 10.1038/nature09006
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
following formats:
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Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (2010, March 25). New human
species discovered: Mitochondrial genome of previously unknown hominins from
Siberia decoded. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 5, 2010, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/03/100325100848.htm
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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