DNA Study Raises Question of a New Species

A statistical geneticist, Ryan Bohlender, and his research team reported on October 20 that  South Pacific islanders may carry DNA of a previously unidentified human species. Using a new genetic analysis program, Bohlender and his research team calculated the ratio of  Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA carried by modern humans. According to Science News, in their study of the Melanesians, natives of a region encompassing Papua New Guinea and neighboring islands, they found a discrepancy in the amount of Denisovan DNA. The analysis indicated that the sampled Melanesians carried 1.11 percent of Denisovan DNA, a result lower than the three to six percent estimate of  other scientists.

At the 2016 American Society of Human Genetics meeting in Vancouver, Bohlender and his colleagues attributed this discrepancy to the possibility of “a third group of hominids” that may have bred with the ancestors of the Melanesians, according to ScienceAlert. Bohlender explained that “we’re missing a population or we’re misunderstanding something about the relationships.”

However, many scientists criticize Bohlender’s argument. Mattias Jakobsson, a geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden, pointed out that scientists do not know how genetically diverse Denisovans were. The discrepancy may only suggest a different branch of Denisovans could be the group that bred with the ancestors of the Melanesians, but in any case, this potential new third hominid group must be taken into consideration in future studies.