Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
The new Communications Biology A study finds that a particular gene, which leads to a taller nose (from top to bottom), may have been a product of natural selection as ancient humans adapted to colder climates after leaving Africa.
Corresponding co-author Dr Kaustubh Adhikari (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment and The Open University) said: “In the last 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome was sequenced, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors apparently interbred with the Neanderthals, leaving us with bits of their DNA.
“Here, we found that some of the DNA inherited from Neanderthals influences the shape of our faces. This could have been useful to our ancestors as it has been passed down for thousands of generations.”
The study used data from more than 6,000 volunteers from Latin America, of mixed European, Native American and African descent, who are part of the UCL-led CANDELA study, which recruited people from Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru. The researchers compared the participants’ genetic information with photographs of their faces, specifically looking at the distances between points on their faces, such as the tip of their nose or the edge of their lips, to see how different facial features were associated with the presence of different genetic markers.
The researchers recently identified 33 genome regions associated with face shape, 26 of which they were able to replicate in comparisons with data from other ethnicities using participants in East Asia, Europe, or Africa.
In a particular region of the genome, called ATF3, the researchers found that many people in their study with Native American ancestry (as well as others with East Asian ancestry from another cohort) had genetic material in this gene that was inherited from Neanderthals, contributing to increased nasal height. They also found that this region of the gene has signs of natural selection, suggesting that it gives an advantage to those who carry the genetic material.
First author Dr Qing Li (Fudan University) said: “It has long been speculated that the shape of our noses is determined by natural selection, as our noses may help us regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment. air we breathe, in different ways”. Noses may be better adapted to the different climates in which our ancestors lived. The gene we have identified here may have been inherited from Neanderthals to help humans adapt to colder climates when our ancestors moved out of Africa.”
Corresponding co-author Professor Andrés Ruiz-Linares (Fudan University, UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment, and Aix-Marseille University) added: “Most genetic studies of human diversity have investigated the genes of Europeans; the Our study’s diverse sample of Latin American participants broadens the scope of the genetic study findings, helping us better understand the genetics of all humans.”
The finding is the second discovery of DNA from archaic humans, other than Homo sapiens, affecting the shape of our faces. The same team discovered in a 2021 paper that a gene that influences lip shape was inherited from ancient Denisovans.*
Researchers from the United Kingdom, China, France, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Germany and Brazil participated in the study.
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