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A "Copernican" reassessment of the human mitochondrial DNA tree from its root.

ABSTRACT: Mutational events along the human mtDNA phylogeny are traditionally identified relative to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence, a contemporary European sequence published in 1981. This historical choice is a continuous source of inconsistencies, misinterpretations, and errors in medical, forensic, and population genetic studies. Here, after having refined the human mtDNA phylogeny to an unprecedented level by adding information from 8,216 modern mitogenomes, we propose switching the reference to a Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence, which was identified by considering all available mitogenomes from Homo neanderthalensis. This "Copernican" reassessment of the human mtDNA tree from its deepest root should resolve previous problems and will have a substantial practical and educational influence on the scientific and public perception of human evolution by clarifying the core principles of common ancestry for extant descendants.

SUBMITTER: Behar DM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3322232 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A "Copernican" reassessment of the human mitochondrial DNA tree from its root.

Behar Doron M DM van Oven Mannis M Rosset Saharon S Metspalu Mait M Loogväli Eva-Liis EL Silva Nuno M NM Kivisild Toomas T Torroni Antonio A Villems Richard R

American journal of human genetics 20120401 4

Mutational events along the human mtDNA phylogeny are traditionally identified relative to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence, a contemporary European sequence published in 1981. This historical choice is a continuous source of inconsistencies, misinterpretations, and errors in medical, forensic, and population genetic studies. Here, after having refined the human mtDNA phylogeny to an unprecedented level by adding information from 8,216 modern mitogenomes, we propose switching the referen ...[more]

PMID: 22482806

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Dataset Information

A "Copernican" reassessment of the human mitochondrial DNA tree from its root.

Publications

A "Copernican" reassessment of the human mitochondrial DNA tree from its root.

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