A study has revealed that your teeth could carry a Neanderthal legacy

While many people are concerned about the attractive design of their teeth, most of them probably don’t think about what individual teeth look like. Well, you should, because it may be determined in part by your Neanderthal ancestors.

An international team of researchers led by Kaustubh Adhikari from University College London (UCL) has discovered dental differences between races, including a clear trait determined by a gene inherited from Neanderthals. their research, published On December 12 in Current biologyIt could one day help diagnose and treat hereditary dental diseases.

The researchers, including experts from Fudan University in China, used 3D scans of dental plaster casts to analyze the dental measurements of 882 volunteers of European, American and African descent. They then compared these dimensions with the volunteers’ genetic data and identified 18 genomic regions associated with different tooth size and shape. Notably, 17 of these regions were identified for the first time as being associated with tooth dimensions.

“Teeth can tell us a lot about human evolution, as well-preserved ancient teeth are of particular interest to archaeologists, highlighting landmarks such as when we moved to cooked food and human tooth sizes began to shrink. But little is known about the genetic basis of the difference Among modern humans regarding tooth size and shape, partly due to challenges in tooth measurement. statement. “We have now identified several genes that influence the development of our teeth, some of which are responsible for differences between ethnic groups.”

Interestingly, scientists point out that one of the identified genes originates in Neanderthals, with whom ancient humans interbred during our relatively short prehistoric coexistence. The genetic variant, found only in volunteers of European descent, was associated with thinner incisors (measured from front to back). Researchers also noted that individuals with this variant tend to have smaller teeth overall. In addition, the team found that the EDAR gene, which was previously linked to the shape of incisors in East Asians, also affects the width of all teeth.

However, “our findings did not shed light on whether the genes that determine tooth shape have been selected in evolution because of certain advantages for dental health, so it is possible that the genes have been selected because of the effects they have in other areas,” Andres explained. Ruiz Linares of the University of California and Aix-Marseille, who co-led the study, says differences in tooth shape lead to side effects. Simply put, researchers aren’t sure why genes evolved to affect tooth shape in this way.

“Some genes that contribute to normal variation in tooth dimensions among healthy people could also contribute to pathogenic variation, such as failure of teeth to grow or other dental health conditions,” said Qing Li from Fudan University, who co-led the research team. He studies. Pathogenic variations are genetic variations that increase an individual’s chances of developing a particular disease or genetic disorder. In other words, the genes that determine dental measurements may also determine health problems.

“Therefore, we hope that our findings will be medically useful, if people with certain dental problems can undergo genetic testing to aid diagnosis, or if some dental anomalies can one day be treated with treatments,” Lee added. Genetic.

It remains to be seen how this research can lead to practical medical applications. Meanwhile, Neanderthal teeth join a host of other features we may have inherited from our long-lost relatives, including Pain tolerance and Nose shapes.