Recurrent gene flow between Neanderthals and modern humans over the past 200,000 years

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Liming; Comi, Troy J.; Bierman, Rob F.; Akey, Joshua M.
• 署名单位: Southeast University - China; Princeton University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8747
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adi1768
• 发表日期: 2024-07-12
• 关键词: approximate bayesian computation; genome sequence; jebel irhoud; HISTORY; admixture; ancestry; origins; introgression; landscape; diversity

摘要

Although it is well known that the ancestors of modern humans and Neanderthals admixed, the effects of gene flow on the Neanderthal genome are not well understood. We develop methods to estimate the amount of human-introgressed sequences in Neanderthals and apply it to whole-genome sequence data from 2000 modern humans and three Neanderthals. We estimate that Neanderthals have 2.5 to 3.7% human ancestry, and we leverage human-introgressed sequences in Neanderthals to revise estimates of Neanderthal ancestry in modern humans, show that Neanderthal population sizes were significantly smaller than previously estimated, and identify two distinct waves of modern human gene flow into Neanderthals. Our data provide insights into the genetic legacy of recurrent gene flow between modern humans and Neanderthals.