Denisova hominin

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"Woman X" redirects here. For other uses, see X woman.

Genus:
Homo

The Denisova hominin is the name given to the remains of a member of the genus Homo which
may be a previously unknown species based on an analysis of its mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
In March 2010, discovery was announced of bone fragments of a juvenile that lived about 41,000
years ago found in Denisova Cave (Altai Krai, Russia)—a region also inhabited at about the same
time by Neanderthals and modern humans.[1][2] The mtDNA of the Denisova hominin is distinct
from the mtDNAs of Neanderthals and modern humans.[3]
Contents

Anatomy and lineage

Little is known of the anatomical features of the individual in question since the only physical
remains discovered thus far are the finger bone from which only mitochondrial genetic material
was gathered. The Siberian bone's mtDNA differs from that of modern humans by 385 bases
(nucleotides) in the mtDNA strand out of approximately 16,500, whereas the difference between
modern humans and Neanderthals is around 202 bases. In contrast, the difference between
chimpanzees and modern humans is approximately 1,462 mtDNA base pairs. Analysis of the
specimen's nuclear DNA is under way and is expected to clarify whether the find is a distinct
species.[1][4] Even though the Denisova hominin's mtDNA lineage predates the divergence of
modern humans and Neanderthals, coalescent theory does not preclude a more recent divergence
date for her nuclear DNA.

Discovery
In 2008, archeologists working at the site of Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia
uncovered a small bone fragment from the fifth finger of a juvenile hominin, dubbed the "X-
woman" (referring to the maternal descent of mitochondrial DNA[4]), or the Denisova hominin.
Artifacts, including a bracelet, excavated in the cave at the same level were carbon dated to
around 40,000 BP.
A team of scientists led by Johannes Krause and Swedish biologist Svante Pääbo from the Max
Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany sequenced mtDNA
extracted from the fragment. Because of the cool climate in the location of the Denisova Cave,
the discovery benefited from DNA's ability to survive for longer periods at lower temperatures.
[2] The analysis indicated that modern humans, Neanderthals, and the Denisova hominin last
shared a common ancestor around 1 million years ago.[3] Modern humans are known to have
overlapped with Neanderthals in Europe for more than 10,000 years, and the discovery raises the
possibility that Neanderthals, modern humans and the Denisovan hominin may have co-existed.
The DNA analysis further indicated that this new hominin species was the result of an early
migration out of Africa, distinct from the later out-of-Africa migrations associated with
Neanderthals and modern humans, but also distinct from the earlier African exodus of Homo
erectus.[3] Professor Chris Stringer, human origins researcher at London's Natural History
Museum and one of the leading proponents of the recent single-origin hypothesis, remarked:
"This new DNA work provides an entirely new way of looking at the still poorly understood
evolution of humans in central and eastern Asia." Pääbo noted that the existence of this distant
branch creates a much more complex picture of humankind during the Late Pleistocene.[4]

References
1 ^ a b Brown, David (March 25, 2010), "DNA from bone shows new human forerunner, and raises array
of questions", Washington Post
2 ^ a b Krause, Johannes; Fu, Qiaomei; Good, Jeffrey M.; Viola, Bence; Shunkov, Michael V.;
Derevianko, Anatoli P. & Pääbo, Svante (2010), "The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an
unknown hominin from southern Siberia", Nature 464 (7290): 894–897, doi:10.1038/nature08976,
PMID 20336068
3 ^ a b c Katsnelson, Alla (March 24, 2010), "New hominin found via mtDNA", The Scientist
4 ^ a b c Sample, Ian (March 24, 2010), "New species of human ancestor found in Siberia",
The Guardian

Hominino Denisova