The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains.

Nature
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

We present a high-quality genome sequence of a Neanderthal woman from Siberia. We show that her parents were related at the level of half-siblings and that mating among close relatives was common among her recent ancestors. We also sequenced the genome of a Neanderthal from the Caucasus to low coverage. An analysis of the relationships and population history of available archaic genomes and 25 present-day human genomes shows that several gene flow events occurred among Neanderthals, Denisovans and early modern humans, possibly including gene flow into Denisovans from an unknown archaic group. Thus, interbreeding, albeit of low magnitude, occurred among many hominin groups in the Late Pleistocene. In addition, the high-quality Neanderthal genome allows us to establish a definitive list of substitutions that became fixed in modern humans after their separation from the ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Year of Publication
2014
Journal
Nature
Volume
505
Issue
7481
Pages
43-9
Date Published
2014 Jan 02
ISSN
1476-4687
URL
DOI
10.1038/nature12886
PubMed ID
24352235
PubMed Central ID
PMC4031459
Links
Grant list
R01-GM40282 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
59107334 / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States
R01 GM100233 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
R01 GM040282 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
HG002385 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
HG006283 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States
GM100233 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
R01 HG006283 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
R01 HG002385 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States