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Researchers have discovered a possible genetic link between Neanderthal DNA and a lower risk of developing a severe case of coronavirus.
A new study, led by Hugo Zeberg and Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, followed recent research suggesting that Neanderthal DNA was in fact linked to a higher risk of serious disease .
They found that a certain haplogroup, a population that shares a common DNA, was about 22% less likely to develop a severe case of COVID-19. The common DNA is believed to have been inherited from Neanderthals.
The haplogroup is common in populations outside of Africa, the study notes, as Neanderthals evolved off the continent.
Neanderthal DNA believed to protect against disease was found on the 12th chromosome, while DNA discovered in a previous study that researchers theorized increased the risk of serious disease was found on the third chromosome.
Researchers said the Neanderthals and their Asian sister group, the Denisovans, went extinct tens of thousands of years ago, but their genetic impact still persists today.
“Some of these contributions may reflect adaptations to environments outside of Africa where Neanderthals lived for several hundred thousand years. During this period, they probably adapted to infectious diseases, which are known to be powerful selection factors that may, at least in part, differed between sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia, ”they wrote.
The study suggested that Neanderthal DNA that protects against serious disease may have occurred due to past outbreaks caused by RNA viruses, a category that includes the coronavirus.
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