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11-17-2006, 04:50 PM
Scientists Plan to Rebuild Neanderthal Genome (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/science/20cnd-neanderthal.html?ei=5088&en=fdfc124cec356f62&ex=1311048000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1163800013-jiyhd3pk5WcbsbsHzIbFtg)
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany, plan to reconstruct the genome of Neanderthals, the archaic human species that occupied Europe from 300,000 years ago until 30,000 years ago until being displaced by modern humans.
The genome will initially be reconstructed using DNA extracted from Neanderthal bones that are 45,000 years old, which were found in Croatia, though bones from other sites may be analyzed later.
The project is a collaboration between Dr. Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and 454 Life Sciences, a Connecticut company that has developed a new method of sequencing, or decoding, DNA.
The sequencing of Neanderthal DNA, long a forlorn hope, suddenly seems possible because of a combination of analytic work on ancient DNA by Dr. Paabo and a new kind of DNA sequencing machine developed by 454 Life Sciences.
Because the genome must be kept in constant repair and starts to break up immediately after the death of the cell, the DNA in Neanderthal bones exists in tiny fragments 100 or so units in length. As it happens, this is just the length that works best with the 454 machine, which is also able to decode vast amounts of DNA at low cost.
Recovery of the Neanderthal genome, in whole or in part, would be invaluable for reconstructing many events in human prehistory and evolution. It would help address such questions as whether Neanderthals and humans interbred, whether the archaic humans had an articulate form of language, how the Neanderthal brain was constructed, if they had light or dark skins, and the total size of the Neanderthal population.
The project is still at an early stage but much groundwork has already been laid. Most Neanderthal bones contain no Neanderthal DNA at all, but almost all are heavily contaminated with the human DNA of the many people who handled the bones. Dr. Paabo has developed stringent methods to address this contamination problem.
Even with the DNA that is known to be ancient, some 95 percent of that in Neanderthal bones belongs to ancient bacteria, said Michael Egholm, a vice president of 454 Life Sciences. But these bacterial sequences can be recognized and discarded, Dr. Egholm said.
Because Neanderthal DNA is so scarce, Dr. Paabo and the 454 researchers developed their methods on ancient DNA from cave bears and mammoth.
More (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/science/20cnd-neanderthal.html?ei=5088&en=fdfc124cec356f62&ex=1311048000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1163800013-jiyhd3pk5WcbsbsHzIbFtg)
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Maybe we'll find out once and for all if anatomically modern humans mated with neandertal man/woman.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany, plan to reconstruct the genome of Neanderthals, the archaic human species that occupied Europe from 300,000 years ago until 30,000 years ago until being displaced by modern humans.
The genome will initially be reconstructed using DNA extracted from Neanderthal bones that are 45,000 years old, which were found in Croatia, though bones from other sites may be analyzed later.
The project is a collaboration between Dr. Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and 454 Life Sciences, a Connecticut company that has developed a new method of sequencing, or decoding, DNA.
The sequencing of Neanderthal DNA, long a forlorn hope, suddenly seems possible because of a combination of analytic work on ancient DNA by Dr. Paabo and a new kind of DNA sequencing machine developed by 454 Life Sciences.
Because the genome must be kept in constant repair and starts to break up immediately after the death of the cell, the DNA in Neanderthal bones exists in tiny fragments 100 or so units in length. As it happens, this is just the length that works best with the 454 machine, which is also able to decode vast amounts of DNA at low cost.
Recovery of the Neanderthal genome, in whole or in part, would be invaluable for reconstructing many events in human prehistory and evolution. It would help address such questions as whether Neanderthals and humans interbred, whether the archaic humans had an articulate form of language, how the Neanderthal brain was constructed, if they had light or dark skins, and the total size of the Neanderthal population.
The project is still at an early stage but much groundwork has already been laid. Most Neanderthal bones contain no Neanderthal DNA at all, but almost all are heavily contaminated with the human DNA of the many people who handled the bones. Dr. Paabo has developed stringent methods to address this contamination problem.
Even with the DNA that is known to be ancient, some 95 percent of that in Neanderthal bones belongs to ancient bacteria, said Michael Egholm, a vice president of 454 Life Sciences. But these bacterial sequences can be recognized and discarded, Dr. Egholm said.
Because Neanderthal DNA is so scarce, Dr. Paabo and the 454 researchers developed their methods on ancient DNA from cave bears and mammoth.
More (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/science/20cnd-neanderthal.html?ei=5088&en=fdfc124cec356f62&ex=1311048000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1163800013-jiyhd3pk5WcbsbsHzIbFtg)
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Maybe we'll find out once and for all if anatomically modern humans mated with neandertal man/woman.