Cited by 208Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyEvolution and Genetic DynamicsForensic and Genetic Research

Evidence that RNA Viruses Drove Adaptive Introgression between Neanderthals and Modern Humans

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Enard, David, Petrov, Dmitri A.·2018·Cell

Abstract

Neanderthals and modern humans interbred at least twice in the past 100,000 years. While there is evidence that most introgressed DNA segments from Neanderthals to modern humans were removed by purifying selection, less is known about the adaptive nature of introgressed sequences that were retained. We hypothesized that interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans led to (1) the exposure of each species to novel viruses and (2) the exchange of adaptive alleles that provided resistance against these viruses. Here, we find that long, frequent-and more likely adaptive-segments of Neanderthal ancestry in modern humans are enriched for proteins that interact with viruses (VIPs). We found that VIPs that interact specifically with RNA viruses were more likely to belong to introgressed segments in modern Europeans. Our results show that retained segments of Neanderthal ancestry can be used to detect ancient epidemics.

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  1. Kim BY, Huber CD, and Lohmueller KE (2017). Deleterious variation mimics signatures of genomic incompatibility and adaptive introgression. bioRxiv.

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Authors
Enard, D., & Petrov, D. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Arizona (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Enard, David
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-10
Volume
175
Issue
2
Pages
360-371.e13
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2895121177
Cited by
208
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 7
FWCI
107.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
NIH (1RO1GM10036601, R35GM118165)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
Keywords
Neanderthal admixture, adaptive introgression, Neanderthal ancestry, RNA viruses, host-virus interaction, purifying selection, ancient epidemics
MeSH terms
Alleles, Animals, Biological Evolution, Haplotypes, Humans, Hybridization, Genetic, Phylogeny, RNA Viruses, Selection, Genetic, Hominidae, Genome, Human, Neanderthals

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