Longer noses in humans could be inherited from Neanderthals, new research suggests.
The new study, led by researchers at University College London (UCL), found that a particular gene that leads to a larger nose may have been the product of natural selection as ancient people adapted to colder climates after they left Africa.
“In the past 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome was sequenced, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors appeared to have interbred with Neanderthals and left us small bits of their DNA,” said Dr. Kaustubh Adhikari, co-author of the Studies.
“Here we find that some of the DNA inherited from Neanderthals influences the shape of our faces.
“This may have been helpful to our ancestors as it has been passed down for thousands of generations,” he added.
Previous studies have shown that narrower nostrils are better for cold climates, as thinner nasal passages help increase the moisture content of the air and warm it.
Humans are believed to have evolved thinner noses as they migrated away from Africa.
In the new UCL-led Candela study, researchers used data from more than 6,000 people across Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, who have a mix of European, Native American and African ancestry.
Genetic information from the participants was compared to photographs of their faces.
Specifically, to see how different facial features are related to the presence of different genetic markers, the researchers looked at the distances between points on their faces, such as the tip of their nose or the edge of their lips.
According to the study, the researchers re-identified 33 genomic regions linked to face shape.
They were able to replicate 26 comparisons with data from other races using people in East Asia, Europe, or Africa.
Different noses for different climates
Specifically, in a 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 group, had genetic material inherited from the Neanderthals.
They found that this contributed to an increased nose height.
This gene region shows signs of natural selection, suggesting it confers an advantage on carriers of the genetic material, the researchers said.
The first author Dr. Qing Li of Fudan University said, “It has long been speculated that the shape of our noses is determined by natural selection; Because our noses can help us regulate the temperature and humidity of the air we breathe, differently shaped noses may be better suited to the different climates in which our ancestors lived.
“The gene we’ve identified here may have been inherited by Neanderthals to help humans adapt to colder climates when our ancestors migrated from Africa.”
Co-author Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares added: “Most genetic studies of human diversity have examined the genes of Europeans; The diverse sample of Hispanic participants in our study extends the reach of the genetic study results and helps us better understand the genetics of all people.”
Researchers say the finding, published in the journal Communications Biology, is the second discovery of DNA from archaic humans — other than Homo sapiens — that appears to influence the shape of our faces.
In 2021, the same team discovered that a gene affecting lip shape was inherited from the ancient Denisovans.
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