Scientists Discover DNA of Mysterious Lineage of Hominins in Modern Humans

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-dna-of-mysterious-lineage-of-hominins-in-modern-humans/
Denisovans interbred with early humans
multiple times, leaving genes that helped
modern humans adapt to varied environments,
such as high-altitude and cold climates.
Scientists believe that members of the
recently discovered hominin group known
as the Denisovans interbred with early
humans in multiple, distinct events,
passing on genes that influenced the
course of early human history.
...
In the review article, Dr Ongaro and
Prof. Emilia Huerta-Sanchez outline
evidence suggesting that several
Denisovan populations, who likely had
an extensive geographical range from
Siberia to Southeast Asia and from
Oceania to South America, were adapted
to distinct environments.
They further outline a number of genes
of Denisovan origin that gave modern
day humans advantages in their different
environments.
Dr Ongaro added: “Among these is a
genetic locus that confers a tolerance
to hypoxia, or low oxygen conditions,
which makes a lot of sense as it is
seen in Tibetan populations; multiple
genes that confer heightened immunity;
and one that impacts lipid metabolism,
providing heat when stimulated by cold,
which confers an advantage to Inuit
populations in the Arctic.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01960-y
A history of multiple Denisovan introgression
events in modern humans
Abstract
The identification of a new hominin group
in the Altai mountains called Denisovans
was one of the most exciting discoveries
in human evolution in the last decade.
Unlike Neanderthal remains, the Denisovan
fossil record consists of only a finger
bone, jawbone, teeth and skull fragments.
Leveraging the surviving Denisovan segments
in modern human genomes has uncovered
evidence of at least three introgression
events from distinct Denisovan populations
into modern humans in the past. Each of
them presents different levels of
relatedness to the sequenced Altai
Denisovan, indicating a complex
relationship between these sister
lineages. Here we review the evidence
suggesting that several Denisovan
populations, who likely had an extensive
geographical range, were adapted to
distinct environments and introgressed
into modern humans multiple times. We
further discuss how archaic variants
have been affected by demographic
history, negative and positive selection
and close by proposing possible new lines
of future research.