A high-coverage Neandertal genome from Vindija Cave in Croatia

Author

Kay Prüfer
Cesare de Filippo
Steffi Grote

Files

Publication Date

January 2017

Abstract

To date, the only Neandertal genome that has been sequenced to high quality is from an individual found in Southern Siberia. We sequenced the genome of a female Neandertal from ~50,000 years ago from Vindija Cave, Croatia, to ~30-fold genomic coverage. She carried 1.6 differences per 10,000 base pairs between the two copies of her genome, fewer than present-day humans, suggesting that Neandertal populations were of small size. Our analyses indicate that she was more closely related to the Neandertals that mixed with the ancestors of present-day humans living outside of sub-Saharan Africa than the previously sequenced Neandertal from Siberia, allowing 10 to 20% more Neandertal DNA to be identified in present-day humans, including variants involved in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, schizophrenia, and other diseases.

Document Type

Article

Notes

Science, Vol. 358, no. 6363 (2017).

Identifier

K26-05664

Recommended Citation

Prüfer, Kay; de Filippo, Cesare; and Grote, Steffi, "A high-coverage Neandertal genome from Vindija Cave in Croatia" (2017). KIP Articles. 2505.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/2505