Neanderthal Genome Sequencing Yields Surprising Results and Opens a New Door to Future Studies
Contact: Lynn Yarris (510) 486-5375, LCYarris@lbl.gov
Scientific Contact: Edward Rubin at EMRubin@lbl.gov
BERKELEY, CA —The veil of mystery surrounding our extinct hominid cousins, the Neanderthals, has been at least partially lifted to reveal surprising results. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) have sequenced genomic DNA from fossilized Neanderthal bones. Their results show that the genomes of modern humans and Neanderthals are at least 99.5-percent identical, but despite this genetic similarity, and despite the two species having cohabitated the same geographic region for thousands of years, there is no evidence of any significant crossbreeding between the two. Based on these early results, Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis last shared a common ancestor approximately 700,000 years ago
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/Genomics-Neanderthal.html
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