‘Distinguished’ nose? Blame the Neanderthals
Natural selection that helped ancient humans still shapes one of our most prominent facial features
LONGER noses may be inherited from Neanderthals, research has suggested.
A study led by UCL researchers found that a particular gene, which leads to a taller nose, may have been the product of natural selection as ancient humans adapted to colder climates after leaving Africa.
“In the last 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome has been sequenced, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors apparently interbred with Neanderthals, leaving us with little bits of their DNA,” co-authors Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment and the Open University said.
“This could have been helpful to our ancestors, as it has been passed down for thousands of generations.”
Previous studies have suggested that narrower nostrils are better for cold climates because thinner nasal passages help to increase the moisture content of air and warm it. Humans may have developed thinner noses as they migrated away from Africa. In the study, researchers used data from more than 6,000 people across Latin America, of mixed European, Native American and African ancestry, who are part of the Ucl-led Candela study, which recruited from Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
Their genetic information was compared to photographs of their faces. To see how different facial traits were linked to the presence of different genetic markers, the researchers looked specifically at distances between points on their faces, such as the tip of the nose or the edge of the lips.
Researchers identified 33 genome regions associated with face shape, according to the study.
They were able to replicate 26 in comparison with data from other ethnicities using people in East Asia, Europe, or Africa.
In one genome region in particular, 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 in the gene that was inherited from the Neanderthals. They found that this contributed to increased nasal height.
This gene region shows signs of natural selection, suggesting that it conferred an advantage for those carrying the genetic material, the researchers say. First author Dr Qing Li, of Fudan University, said: “The gene we have identified here may have been inherited from Neanderthals to help humans adapt to colder climates as our ancestors moved out of Africa.” Co-author Prof Andres Ruiz-linares, of Fudan University, UCL and Aix-marseille University, added: “Our study’s diverse sample of Latin American participants broadens the reach of genetic study findings, helping us to better understand the genetics of all humans.”
The finding, published in Communications Biolog y, is the second discovery of DNA from archaic humans, distinct from Homo sapiens, affecting our face shape, the researchers say. The same team also wrote in a 2021 paper that a gene influencing lip shape was inherited from the ancient Denisovans.