The most sophisticated protein analysis method solves the secret of human DNA from 2 million years ago : Dong-A Science

Scientists begin DNA analysis using the most sophisticated protein analysis technique in existence to unlock the secrets of ancient human evolution.

According to major foreign media such as the Guardian, a British daily newspaper, on the 5th, a research team at the Francis Crick Research Institute in the UK started a study to analyze DNA extracted from fossils of humans 2 million years ago using the ‘proteomics’ protein analysis technique. The research team expressed their anticipation, saying, “It will provide new insight into human history that has not been known for the past 2 million years.”

In this study, an analysis of the 300,000-year-old Homo naledi found in South Africa in 2013 will be conducted. Whether Homo naledi had a funeral culture to bury the dead is a mystery in the academic world. An analysis of ‘Homo floriensis’ found on the Indonesian island of Florence is also underway. Homo floriensis is believed to be the ancestor of humans who lived at the same time as Homo sapiens, but the exact origin is still unknown.

Proteomics is an analysis technology that identifies functional abnormalities or structural changes in genes and proteins targeting proteomes made by genetic instructions. It is a compound word of “protein” and “whole (ome),” meaning that it deals with all information related to the entire protein.

The reason proteomics analysis techniques are in the limelight is that even if all of the DNA sequences of the human genome have been identified, it is not possible to know what role genes play in human cells. Proteins that have been synthesized and modified in the body must be analyzed to finally know the role of the gene in the cell.

The research team explained that the proteomics analysis method applied in this analysis will reflect the development of the latest DNA analysis technology. Specifically, Svante Pebo, head of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last year, analyzed Neanderthal DNA. Through DNA analysis, Pebo’s research team found that modern humans have significant Neanderthal genes.