Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from dental calculus of the >146,000-year-old Harbin cranium

Abstract

Denisovans have yet to be directly associated with a hominin cranium, limiting our understanding of their morphology and geographical distribution. We have attempted to retrieve DNA from a nearly complete Middle Pleistocene cranium from Harbin (>146 ka), northeastern China. Although no DNA could be retrieved from a tooth or the petrous bone, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) could be isolated from dental calculus. The mtDNA falls within Denisovan mtDNA variation and is related to an mtDNA branch carried by early Denisovan individuals in southern Siberia, previously observed in Denisova Cave. This suggests that Denisovans inhabited a large geographical range in Asia in the Middle Pleistocene. The association of Denisovan mtDNA with the Harbin cranium allows a better understanding of the morphological relationships between Denisovans and other East Asian Middle Pleistocene fossils. Furthermore, the retrieval of host DNA from dental calculus opens new possibilities for genetic research on Middle Pleistocene hominins.