title: Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from two Denisovan individuals.
abstract: Denisovans, a sister group of Neandertals, have been described on the basis of a nuclear genome sequence from a finger phalanx (Denisova 3) found in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains. The only other Denisovan specimen described to date is a molar (Denisova 4) found at the same site. This tooth carries a mtDNA sequence similar to that of Denisova 3. Here we present nuclear DNA sequences from Denisova 4 and a morphological description, as well as mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data, from another molar (Denisova 8) found in Denisova Cave in 2010. This new molar is similar to Denisova 4 in being very large and lacking traits typical of Neandertals and modern humans. Nuclear DNA sequences from the two molars form a clade with Denisova 3. The mtDNA of Denisova 8 is more diverged and has accumulated fewer substitutions than the mtDNAs of the other two specimens, suggesting Denisovans were present in the region over an extended period. The nuclear DNA sequence diversity among the three Denisovans is comparable to that among six Neandertals, but lower than that among present-day humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Renaud
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, RU-630090, Russia;
authors.forename: Bence
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Viola
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hublin
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Marie-Theres
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gansauge
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, RU-630090, Russia; Novosibirsk National Research State University, Novosibirsk, RU-630090, Russia;
authors.forename: Michael V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Shunkov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, RU-630090, Russia; Altai State University, Barnaul, RU-656049, Russia.
authors.forename: Anatoly P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Derevianko
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prüfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Janet
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3618-322X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kelso
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; paabo@eva.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Svante
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pääbo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Denisovans; Neandertals; ancient DNA