Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2023 21:30:03 GMT
Are you a morning person? If so, you might have inherited that trait from a Neanderthal ancestor, researchers report this week in Genome Biology and Evolution. Because they lived at higher latitudes, Neanderthals in Eurasia—who diverged from the lineage that gave rise to modern humans some 700,000 years ago, and later interbred with our species—experienced more variation in seasonal daylight than their relatives in Africa, Smithsonian Magazine reports. That may have led them to develop a more flexible circadian rhythm—the internal “clock” that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Authors of the new study compared modern and ancient versions of both human- and Neanderthal-derived genes known to affect the circadian rhythm and found that people who had inherited Neanderthal genetic variants were more likely to be early risers. These findings not only shed new light on Neanderthal biology, the researchers told The New York Times, but could help inspire ways to help people cope with modern sleep disruptions, such as working night shifts or staying up reading on glowing smartphones.
Archaic Introgression Shaped Human Circadian Traits
Keila Velazquez-Arcelay, Laura L Colbran, Evonne McArthur, Colin M Brand, David C Rinker, Justin K Siemann, Douglas G McMahon, John A Capra
Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 15, Issue 12, December 2023, evad203, doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad203
Published: 14 December 2023
Abstract
When the ancestors of modern Eurasians migrated out of Africa and interbred with Eurasian archaic hominins, namely, Neanderthals and Denisovans, DNA of archaic ancestry integrated into the genomes of anatomically modern humans. This process potentially accelerated adaptation to Eurasian environmental factors, including reduced ultraviolet radiation and increased variation in seasonal dynamics. However, whether these groups differed substantially in circadian biology and whether archaic introgression adaptively contributed to human chronotypes remain unknown. Here, we traced the evolution of chronotype based on genomes from archaic hominins and present-day humans. First, we inferred differences in circadian gene sequences, splicing, and regulation between archaic hominins and modern humans. We identified 28 circadian genes containing variants with potential to alter splicing in archaics (e.g., CLOCK, PER2, RORB, and RORC) and 16 circadian genes likely divergently regulated between present-day humans and archaic hominins, including RORA. These differences suggest the potential for introgression to modify circadian gene expression. Testing this hypothesis, we found that introgressed variants are enriched among expression quantitative trait loci for circadian genes. Supporting the functional relevance of these regulatory effects, we found that many introgressed alleles have associations with chronotype. Strikingly, the strongest introgressed effects on chronotype increase morningness, consistent with adaptations to high latitude in other species. Finally, we identified several circadian loci with evidence of adaptive introgression or latitudinal clines in allele frequency. These findings identify differences in circadian gene regulation between modern humans and archaic hominins and support the contribution of introgression via coordinated effects on variation in human chronotype.
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/12/evad203/7457904?login=false
Archaic Introgression Shaped Human Circadian Traits
Keila Velazquez-Arcelay, Laura L Colbran, Evonne McArthur, Colin M Brand, David C Rinker, Justin K Siemann, Douglas G McMahon, John A Capra
Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 15, Issue 12, December 2023, evad203, doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad203
Published: 14 December 2023
Abstract
When the ancestors of modern Eurasians migrated out of Africa and interbred with Eurasian archaic hominins, namely, Neanderthals and Denisovans, DNA of archaic ancestry integrated into the genomes of anatomically modern humans. This process potentially accelerated adaptation to Eurasian environmental factors, including reduced ultraviolet radiation and increased variation in seasonal dynamics. However, whether these groups differed substantially in circadian biology and whether archaic introgression adaptively contributed to human chronotypes remain unknown. Here, we traced the evolution of chronotype based on genomes from archaic hominins and present-day humans. First, we inferred differences in circadian gene sequences, splicing, and regulation between archaic hominins and modern humans. We identified 28 circadian genes containing variants with potential to alter splicing in archaics (e.g., CLOCK, PER2, RORB, and RORC) and 16 circadian genes likely divergently regulated between present-day humans and archaic hominins, including RORA. These differences suggest the potential for introgression to modify circadian gene expression. Testing this hypothesis, we found that introgressed variants are enriched among expression quantitative trait loci for circadian genes. Supporting the functional relevance of these regulatory effects, we found that many introgressed alleles have associations with chronotype. Strikingly, the strongest introgressed effects on chronotype increase morningness, consistent with adaptations to high latitude in other species. Finally, we identified several circadian loci with evidence of adaptive introgression or latitudinal clines in allele frequency. These findings identify differences in circadian gene regulation between modern humans and archaic hominins and support the contribution of introgression via coordinated effects on variation in human chronotype.
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/12/evad203/7457904?login=false