A high-coverage Neandertal genome from the Altai Mountains reveals population structure among Neandertals

A high-coverage Neandertal genome from the Altai Mountains reveals population structure among Neandertals Full article

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
ISSN: 0027-8424 , E-ISSN: 1091-6490

Output data

Year: 2026, Volume: 123, Number: 13, Pages: 1-8 Pages count : 8 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2534576123

Tags

Neandertal genome, Denisovans, archaic hominins

Authors

Massilani Diyendo ¹ , Peyrégne Stéphane ² , Iasi Leonardo N.M. ² , de Filippo Cesare ² , Mafessoni Fabrizio ³ , Bossoms Mesa Alba ² , Sümer Arev P. ² , Swiel Yaniv ² , Popli Divyaratan ² , Silverman Shahar ¹ , Boyle Michael James ¹ , Kozlikin Maxim B. ⁴ , Shunkov Michael V. ⁴ , Derevianko Anatoly P. ⁴ , Higham Tom ^5,6 , Douka Katerina ^5,6 , Meyer Matthias ² , Zeberg Hugo ² , Kelso Janet ² , Pääbo Svante ²

Affiliations

1	Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven
2	Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
3	Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste 34127, Italy
4	Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
5	Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria
6	Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Network, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria

Funding (1)

24-18-00069

We present a genome sequenced to ~37-fold genomic coverage from an approximately 110,000-y-old male Neandertal from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains and analyze it together with previously published Neandertal genomes of high quality. We show that he belonged to a population more closely related to a ~120,000-y-old Neanderta from Denisova Cave than to Neandertals in Europe or to a ~80,000-y-old Neandertal from Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains. Both Neandertals from Denisova Cave show evidence of gene flow from Denisovans, a pattern not seen in later Neandertals from the Altai region or from Western Europe. The extent of chromosomal regions of homozygosity in Neandertals from the Altai region between 120,000 and 80,000 y ago indicates that they lived in smaller and more isolated groups than later Neandertals in Europe (54,000 to 40,000 y ago). We estimate the extent of allele frequency differentiation among Neandertal populations and find that the older Eastern Neandertals in the Altai region and younger Western Neandertals in Europe were as differentiated as the most differentiated present-day human populations worldwide.

Massilani D. , Peyrégne S. , Iasi L.N.M. , de Filippo C. , Mafessoni F. , Bossoms Mesa A. , Sümer A.P. , Swiel Y. , Popli D. , Silverman S. , Boyle M.J. , Kozlikin M.B. , Shunkov M.V. , Derevianko A.P. , Higham T. , Douka K. , Meyer M. , Zeberg H. , Kelso J. , Pääbo S.
A high-coverage Neandertal genome from the Altai Mountains reveals population structure among Neandertals
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2026. V.123. N13. P.1-8. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2534576123 WOS РИНЦ publication_identifier_short.edn_identifier_type

≡ Web of science:	WOS:001743990900001
≡ Elibrary:	90895599
≡ publication_identifier.edn_identifier_type:	SKNHXV