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A 'Copernican' Reassessment of the Human Mitochondrial DNA Tree from Its Root
- Source :
- The American Journal of Human Genetics. 90(5)
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2012.
-
Abstract
- Mutational events along the human mtDNA phylogeny are traditionally identified relative to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence, a contemporary European sequence published in 1981. This historical choice is a continuous source of inconsistencies, misinterpretations, and errors in medical, forensic, and population genetic studies. Here, after having refined the human mtDNA phylogeny to an unprecedented level by adding information from 8,216 modern mitogenomes, we propose switching the reference to a Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence, which was identified by considering all available mitogenomes from Homo neanderthalensis. This “Copernican” reassessment of the human mtDNA tree from its deepest root should resolve previous problems and will have a substantial practical and educational influence on the scientific and public perception of human evolution by clarifying the core principles of common ancestry for extant descendants.
- Subjects :
- Mitochondrial DNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Population
Biology
DNA, Mitochondrial
Human mitochondrial genetics
Article
symbols.namesake
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Databases, Genetic
Genetics
Animals
Humans
Genetics(clinical)
education
Phylogeny
Genetics (clinical)
Neanderthals
Sequence (medicine)
030304 developmental biology
education.field_of_study
0303 health sciences
Base Sequence
Genetic Variation
Copernican principle
Biological Evolution
Addendum
Haplotypes
Human evolution
Evolutionary biology
Mutation
symbols
Cambridge Reference Sequence
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Reference genome
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00029297
- Volume :
- 90
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The American Journal of Human Genetics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....53d12e0e3f490acdb906b2a0ff17263d
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.04.007