Researchers have found out what evolutionary advantages were given to representatives of the species Homo sapiens by crossing with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
In 2010, geneticists working under the direction of Rasmus Nielsen figured out some details regarding the EPAS1 gene. This gene normalizes the body's work under conditions of chronic oxygen deficiency. Scientists have found that the EPAS1 gene has features in the inhabitants of Tibet (in comparison with the inhabitants of other parts of the earth). This version of EPAS1 helps Tibetans to better adapt to their environment. Initially, Nielsen and his team believed that the gene evolved under the influence of natural conditions. However, later it turned out that he was "borrowed" by the ancestors of the Tibetans from the Denisovans - an extinct species / subspecies of people.
Now Emilia Huerta-Sanchez and her colleagues decided to find other similar examples of "useful" genes. The DNA of the Neanderthals and Denisovans and the genome samples contained in the 1000 Genomes project database were compared. As it turned out, many peoples of the world received separate genes from ancient people (with the exception of the inhabitants of Africa). We are talking about "Neanderthal" and "Denisov" versions of the genes BNC2, POU2F3, HYAL2, SIPA1L2 and others. Some of them are responsible for the color and structure of the skin, while others are responsible for the functioning of the brain.
Scientists have found that the inhabitants of Asia received genes from the Neanderthals, associated, in particular, with the growth of muscles. But the inhabitants of Europe got the genes responsible for immunity, hair color, face shape and the work of the fat layer.
According to the researchers, the "borrowed" versions of the genes helped Cro-Magnons better adapt to the harsh cold conditions of Europe and Asia and more effectively compete with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Earlier, other scientists found that the inhabitants of Southeast Asia and the southern part of China received the largest (in comparison with other people) number of genes from Denisovans. Also, modern science knows that Neanderthals made a greater contribution to the genomes of East Asians than to the genomes of Europeans.
Ilya Vedmedenko