Sunday, February 12, 9 AM PST Darwin Day, Heroes of Evolution: Svante Pääbo By Dr. Stephen L. Gasior https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/ Abstract: Much of science is about pushing the boundaries of technology to build the future. However, in some cases the frontiers of technical achievement are used to unlock the secrets of the past. In the area of paleobiology, no one exemplifies this more than Svante Pääbo. Pääbo is a Swedish molecular biologist who developed DNA analytical techniques to sequence ancient DNA. He was able to illuminate the genomes of extinct species like the mammoth, sloth, and ancient human cousins the Neandertals. Along the way, he discovered a new species of hominin, the Denosivans. The greatest surprise was that signatures of Neanderthal and Denisovan genes are found in humans. Understanding the genetic history, comparative genomics, and evolutionary impact of humans along with their extinct cousins has led to several interesting conclusions about genes that impact the human condition and health. For this reason, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2022 for his work. This talk gives an overview of Svante Pääbo's career and impact in paleobiology. Svante Pääbo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_P%C3%A4%C3%A4bo Google Scholar Citations https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=_Urs-74AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Sat. 21 Jan 2023. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2022/summary/ Nobel Prize lecture: Svante Pääbo, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 https://youtu.be/FXgW1WZV0rc Pääbo, S. Molecular cloning of Ancient Egyptian mummy DNA. Nature 314, 644–645 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/314644a0 https://www.nature.com/articles/314644a0 (review of above: Jones, J. Molecular Egyptology: Mummified human DNA cloned. Nature 314, 576 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/314576a0 https://www.nature.com/articles/314576a0) Greenwood, A. D., Capelli, C., Possnert, G., & Pääbo, S. (1999). Nuclear DNA sequences from late Pleistocene megafauna. Molecular biology and evolution, 16(11), 1466-1473. https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/16/11/1466/2925395 Poinar, H., Kuch, M., McDonald, G., Martin, P., & Pääbo, S. (2003). Nuclear gene sequences from a Late Pleistocene sloth coprolite. Current Biology, 13(13), 1150-1152. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(03)00450-0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanger_sequencing Green, Richard E., et al. "A complete Neandertal mitochondrial genome sequence determined by high-throughput sequencing." Cell 134.3 (2008): 416-426. https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(08)00773-3 Green, R. E., Krause, J., Briggs, A. W., Maricic, T., Stenzel, U., Kircher, M., ... & Pääbo, S. (2010). A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome. science, 328(5979), 710-722. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1188021 Krause, J., Fu, Q., Good, J. et al. The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia. Nature 464, 894–897 (2010). https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08976 Reich, D., Green, R., Kircher, M. et al. Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Nature 468, 1053–1060 (2010). https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09710 Prüfer, K., Racimo, F., Patterson, N., Jay, F., Sankararaman, S., Sawyer, S., ... & Pääbo, S. (2014). The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains. Nature, 505(7481), 43-49. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12886 Zeberg, H., Dannemann, M., Sahlholm, K., Tsuo, K., Maricic, T., Wiebe, V., ... & Pääbo, S. (2020). A Neanderthal sodium channel increases pain sensitivity in present-day humans. Current Biology, 30(17), 3465-3469. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30861-7 (review of above) Callaway, E. (2020). Neanderthal gene linked to increased pain sensitivity. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02202-x Zeberg, H., Kelso, J., & Pääbo, S. (2020). The Neandertal progesterone receptor. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37(9), 2655-2660. Zeberg, H., Pääbo, S. The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals. Nature 587, 610–612 (2020). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3 Zeberg, H. (2022). The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is associated with protection against HIV. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(9), e2116435119. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2116435119 Zeberg, H., & Pääbo, S. (2021). A genomic region associated with protection against severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(9), e2026309118. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2026309118 Coppo, L., Mishra, P., Siefert, N., Holmgren, A., Pääbo, S., & Zeberg, H. (2022). A substitution in the glutathione reductase lowers electron leakage and inflammation in modern humans. Science Advances, 8(1), eabm1148. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abm1148 Haeggström, S., Ingelman-Sundberg, M., Pääbo, S., & Zeberg, H. (2022). The clinically relevant CYP2C8* 3 and CYP2C9* 2 haplotype is inherited from Neandertals. The Pharmacogenomics Journal, 22(4), 247-249. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41397-022-00284-6 Orlando, L., Allaby, R., Skoglund, P. et al. Ancient DNA analysis. Nat Rev Methods Primers 1, 14 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-020-00011-0 https://www.nature.com/articles/s43586-020-00011-0 For further review: Explained. Nobel Prize Physiology or Medicine 2022. Paleogenomics in Human Evolution by Svante Paabo https://youtu.be/Pd9nMrZxblw