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http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2017/07/028.html
By Charlotte Hsu
Release Date: July 21, 2017
“It seems that interbreeding between different early hominin species is not the exception — it’s the norm.”
Omer Gokcumen, assistant professor
Department of Biological Sciences
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In saliva, scientists have found hints that a “ghost” species of archaic humans may have contributed genetic material to ancestors of people living in Sub-Saharan Africa today.
...
“Based on our analysis, the most plausible explanation for this extreme variation is archaic introgression — the introduction of genetic material from a ‘ghost’ species of ancient hominins,” Gokcumen says. “This unknown human relative could be a species that has been discovered, such as a subspecies of Homo erectus, or an undiscovered hominin. We call it a ‘ghost’ species because we don’t have the fossils.”
It's called a ghost species, because there's no fossil evidence. But by using saliva samples of modern Sub-Saharan Africans, scientists found signs of admixture with an archaic ghost species. There are indications that Homo sapiens in Africa interbred with another unknown ancient hominid, or perhaps a known subspecies of Homo erectus.
More from the article
A tantalizing clue in saliva
The scientists came upon their findings while researching the purpose and origins of the MUC7 protein, which helps give spit its slimy consistency and binds to microbes, potentially helping to rid the body of disease-causing bacteria.
As part of this investigation, the team examined the MUC7 gene in more than 2,500 modern human genomes. The analysis yielded a surprise: A group of genomes from Sub-Saharan Africa had a version of the gene that was wildly different from versions found in other modern humans.
The Sub-Saharan variant was so distinctive that Neanderthal and Denisovan MUC7 genes matched more closely with those of other modern humans than the Sub-Saharan outlier did.