Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia

8 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla.-- Artículo Open Access.-- et al.
Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, we have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. This individual is from a group that shares a common origin with Neanderthals. This population was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians; however, the data suggest that it contributed 4–6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. We designate this hominin population ‘Denisovans’ and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch. A tooth found in Denisova Cave carries a mitochondrial genome highly similar to that of the finger bone. This tooth shares no derived morphological features with Neanderthals or modern humans, further indicating that Denisovans have an evolutionary history distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.
The Presidential Innovation Fund of the Max Planck Society and the Krekeler Foundation provided financial support. M.S. was supported by a US National Institutes of Health grant (R01-GM40282). The National Science Foundation provided an International Postdoctoral Fellowship (OISE-0754461) to J.M.G., a Fellowship in Biological Informatics to P.L.F.J. and a HOMINID grant (1032255) to D.R.