Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans initially interbred 250,000 years ago, a date that is far earlier than previously thought, a new study suggests.
Until now, Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) were believed to have first interbred earlier than 75,000 years ago, according to a 2016 genetic analysis in the journal Nature. However, a new analysis, published Oct. 13 in the journal Current Biology, has revealed that one group of Homo sapiens from Africa interbred with Neanderthals in Eurasia around 250,000 years ago.
This group of humans died out, but left a genetic footprint in the DNA of Neanderthals that descended from this interbreeding event — with 6% of the genome of a Neanderthal discovered in Siberia containing human DNA. Some sub-Saharan populations of anatomically modern humans also inherited Neanderthal DNA when groups of humans who had interbred with Neanderthals migrated back into Africa.
In addition, the authors found that most of the human DNA in the Neanderthal genome was in non-coding regions (meaning DNA that does not code for proteins) implying that human genes had been selected against during Neanderthal evolution. What’s more, Neanderthal DNA was missing in the human genomes at the same place.
