Cited by 346Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyForensic and Genetic ResearchGenetic diversity and population structure

Multiple Deeply Divergent Denisovan Ancestries in Papuans

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Jacobs, Guy S., Hudjashov, Georgi, Saag, Lauri, Kusuma, Pradiptajati, Darusallam, Chelzie C., Lawson, Daniel J., Mondal, Mayukh, Pagani, Luca +6 more·2019·Cell

Abstract

Genome sequences are known for two archaic hominins-Neanderthals and Denisovans-which interbred with anatomically modern humans as they dispersed out of Africa. We identified high-confidence archaic haplotypes in 161 new genomes spanning 14 island groups in Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea and found large stretches of DNA that are inconsistent with a single introgressing Denisovan origin. Instead, modern Papuans carry hundreds of gene variants from two deeply divergent Denisovan lineages that separated over 350 thousand years ago. Spatial and temporal structure among these lineages suggest that introgression from one of these Denisovan groups predominantly took place east of the Wallace line and continued until near the end of the Pleistocene. A third Denisovan lineage occurs in modern East Asians. This regional mosaic suggests considerable complexity in archaic contact, with modern humans interbreeding with multiple Denisovan groups that were geographically isolated from each other over deep evolutionary time.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2019.02.035

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95 of 95 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Recent studies have shown the existence of genetic structure characterising the Indonesian archipelago, with Papuan-and thus, Denisovan-ancestry showing a marked west to east cline.

    “Recent studies have shown the existence of genetic structure characterising the Indonesian archipelago, with Papuan—and thus, Denisovan—ancestry showing a marked west to east cline [6, 53].”
  • Denisovan-like ancestry is the result of multiple introgression events from different source populations.

    “We find support for the hypothesis that Denisovan-like ancestry is the result of multiple introgression events from different source populations (9, 10).”
  • Prior studies have suggested that Denisovan-like haplotype blocks in humans have two or three distinct sources with different levels of divergence to the Denisovan genome, with the best-matching haplotype blocks in East Asia.

    “Prior studies have suggested that Denisovan-like haplotype blocks in humans have two or three distinct sources with different levels of divergence to the Denisovan genome, with the best-matching haplotype blocks in East Asia (9, 10).”
  • Denisovan components in Papuans exhibit deep divergence from the reference Altai Denisovan genome, providing evidence for multiple Denisovan introgression events across time and space.

    “these components exhibit a deep divergence from the reference Altai Denisovan genome, providing strong evidence for the occurrence of multiple Denisovan introgression events across time and space [6, 7].”
  • The filtering criteria ensure that only variants with a high likelihood of being truly introgressed are considered.

    “While our analyses focus on a small subset of introgressed variants identified by [6], our filtering criteria ensure that we only consider variants with a high likelihood of being truly introgressed.”

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Authors
Jacobs, G. S., Hudjashov, G., Saag, L., Kusuma, P., Darusallam, C. C., Lawson, D. J., Mondal, M., Pagani, L., Ricaut, F.-X., Stoneking, M., Metspalu, M., Sudoyo, H., Lansing, J. S., & Cox, M. P.
Affiliations
  • Nanyang Technological University (SG)
  • Massey University (NZ)
  • University of Tartu (EE)
  • Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (ID)
  • University of Bristol (GB)
  • University of Padua (IT)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • Santa Fe Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Hudjashov, Georgi
  • Cox, Murray P.
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-05
Volume
177
Issue
4
Pages
1010-1021.e32
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2923745223
Cited by
346
References
95
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 104 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 18 · 2014: 1
FWCI
185.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Explore Bristol Research (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Apollo
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (SES 0725470)
  • Singapore Ministry of Education Tier II (MOE2015-T2-1-127)
  • NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Complexity Institute Individual Fellowship
  • French ANR grant (ANR-14-CE31-0013-01)
  • European Union grant through the European Regional Development Fund (2014-2020.4.01.15-0012)
  • Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden (17-MAU-040)
  • German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship
  • Microsoft research grant for Azure cloud computing
  • High Performance Computing Center, University of Tartu, Estonia
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
Keywords
Denisovans, Papuans, archaic introgression, Wallace's Line, Island Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Pleistocene, human dispersal out of Africa
MeSH terms
Genetic Introgression, Animals, Biological Evolution, Haplotypes, Humans, Indonesia, Genetic Variation, Hominidae, Genome, Human, Oceania, Asian People, Gene Flow, Neanderthals

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