Genomes/ ancestry of Indians

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Neanderthal ancestry

University of California studies. 2024

Neha Madaan, March 3, 2024: The Times of India

Pune: Researchers from US and India have overturned previous assumptions about Neanderthal ancestry in India, unearthing substantial genes of the extinct archaic human subspecies in modern Indian DNA. The study found that Indians exhibit the “most diverse Neanderthal ancestry globally” — that is, Indians have inherited a higher number of genetic traits from Neanderthals than other populations.


The study, which has already become a topic of discussion among academics and is currently being reviewed by Nature, looked at how genes inherited from ancient human ancestors might impact immune function and disease risk among Indians.

‘1-2% of Indian ancestry connects to ancient humans’

Researchers from University of California Berkeley, University of Southern California and AIIMS Delhi, among others, collected 2,700 high-coverage genomes from individuals born in 23 states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.


The study identified specific regions of the genome, where these ancient genes were common and how they might affect health in modern Indian populations. “Among these is a gene cluster on chromosome 3 that impacts response to Covid-19. This region, inherited from Neanderthals and present in 20-35% of Indians, increases risk of severe symptoms after Covid infection and hospitalisation,” said Priya Moorjani, lead researcher of the study and assistant professor at University of California Berkeley.


Moorjani told TOI, “We found that 1-2% of Indian ancestry comes from ancient humans such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. By studying modern Indian DNA, we recovered about 50% of Neanderthal genome and 20% of Denisovan genome that entered the Indian gene pool long ago. Moreover, we discovered that Indians have unique Neanderthal segments compared to people worldwide. These ‘segments’ are pieces of DNA inherited from Neanderthals that have survived through generations.”


Neanderthals are an extinct species of humans that lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. Denisovans were also a group of extinct hominins (early human relatives) who lived thousands of years ago.