Researchers have discovered a possible genetic link between Neanderthal DNA and a lower risk of developing a serious case of the coronavirus.
A new study, conducted by Hugo Zeberg and Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, followed recent research that suggested that Neanderthal DNA was actually linked to a higher risk of serious diseases.
They found that a certain haplogroup, a population that shares common DNA, was about 22 percent less likely to develop a severe case of COVID-19. The common DNA is thought to be inherited from Neanderthals.
The study indicates that the haplogroup is common in populations outside Africa as Neanderthal evolved from the mainland.
The Neanderthal DNA suspected to protect against disease was found on the 12th chromosome, while the DNA discovered in a previous study that researchers theorized increased the chances of serious disease on the third chromosome.
The researchers said Neanderthals and their Asian sister group, Denisovans, became extinct tens of thousands of years ago, but their genetic impact remains today.
“Some of these contributions may reflect the adaptations in environments outside Africa where Neanderthals lived over several hundred thousand years. During this time, they probably adapted to infectious diseases, known as strong selective factors that may, at least in part, be “differed between sub – Saharan Africa and Eurasia,” they wrote.
The study suggested that the Neanderthal DNA that protects against serious diseases may occur as a result of past epidemics caused by RNA viruses, a category that includes the coronavirus.