MUC7 (Muzin7) ist ein Gen. Wissenschaftler sind nun seiner Historie nachgegangen, und kombinieren das Ergebnis (bezogen auf Afrika, Subsahara) mit den jüngsten Erkenntnissen über den homo sapiens, inklusive Mix mit Neanderthalern und Denisowa. Muzin7 hat offensichtlich mit unserer Mundflora zu tun.
Die Schlußfolgerung klingt reißerisch: eine "ghost species" der Gattung HS soll für den "Geneintrag" zuständig sein. Und eine "Geisterspezies" (von der man keinen archäologischen Nachweis hat, sondern auf die populationsgenetisch geschlossen wurde) wird von der Presse umgehend aufgenommen:
Presse:
The scientists came upon their findings while researching the purpose and origins of the MUC7 protein, which helps give spit its slimy consistency and binds to microbes, potentially helping to rid the body of disease-causing bacteria.
As part of this investigation, the team examined the MUC7 gene in more than 2,500 modern human genomes. The analysis yielded a surprise: A group of genomes from Sub-Saharan Africa had a version of the gene that was wildly different from versions found in other modern humans.
The Sub-Saharan variant was so distinctive that Neanderthal and Denisovan MUC7 genes matched more closely with those of other modern humans than the Sub-Saharan outlier did.
“Based on our analysis, the most plausible explanation for this extreme variation is archaic introgression — the introduction of genetic material from a ‘ghost’ species of ancient hominins,” Gokcumen says. “This unknown human relative could be a species that has been discovered, such as a subspecies of Homo erectus, or an undiscovered hominin. We call it a ‘ghost’ species because we don’t have the fossils.”
Given the rate that genes mutate during the course of evolution, the team calculated that the ancestors of people who carry the Sub-Saharan MUC7 variant interbred with another ancient human species as recently as 150,000 years ago, after the two species’ evolutionary path diverged from each other some 1.5 to 2 million years ago.
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index...host-species-of-ancient-human-found-in-saliva
PastHorizons: Clues to a ‘ghost’ species of ancient human found in saliva
Aufsatz:
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/molbev/msx206
Pavlidis et. al., Archaic hominin introgression in Africa contributes to functional salivary MUC7 genetic variation
Die Schlußfolgerung klingt reißerisch: eine "ghost species" der Gattung HS soll für den "Geneintrag" zuständig sein. Und eine "Geisterspezies" (von der man keinen archäologischen Nachweis hat, sondern auf die populationsgenetisch geschlossen wurde) wird von der Presse umgehend aufgenommen:
Presse:
The scientists came upon their findings while researching the purpose and origins of the MUC7 protein, which helps give spit its slimy consistency and binds to microbes, potentially helping to rid the body of disease-causing bacteria.
As part of this investigation, the team examined the MUC7 gene in more than 2,500 modern human genomes. The analysis yielded a surprise: A group of genomes from Sub-Saharan Africa had a version of the gene that was wildly different from versions found in other modern humans.
The Sub-Saharan variant was so distinctive that Neanderthal and Denisovan MUC7 genes matched more closely with those of other modern humans than the Sub-Saharan outlier did.
“Based on our analysis, the most plausible explanation for this extreme variation is archaic introgression — the introduction of genetic material from a ‘ghost’ species of ancient hominins,” Gokcumen says. “This unknown human relative could be a species that has been discovered, such as a subspecies of Homo erectus, or an undiscovered hominin. We call it a ‘ghost’ species because we don’t have the fossils.”
Given the rate that genes mutate during the course of evolution, the team calculated that the ancestors of people who carry the Sub-Saharan MUC7 variant interbred with another ancient human species as recently as 150,000 years ago, after the two species’ evolutionary path diverged from each other some 1.5 to 2 million years ago.
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index...host-species-of-ancient-human-found-in-saliva
PastHorizons: Clues to a ‘ghost’ species of ancient human found in saliva
Aufsatz:
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/molbev/msx206
Pavlidis et. al., Archaic hominin introgression in Africa contributes to functional salivary MUC7 genetic variation