Researchers from the National University of La Plata, part of the international consortium CANDELA, have made significant discoveries regarding the genomic analysis of teeth in contemporary Latin American populations.
The study identified 18 genomic regions associated with dental traits, establishing a clear link between genetic inheritance and the evolution of the human dental system, highlighting the influence of Neanderthal ancestry. This research has biomedical implications, potentially paving the way for new treatments for genetically related dental diseases impacting a substantial portion of the population.
Teeth are crucial in human evolution studies due to their abundance in the fossil and archaeological record, allowing for detailed insights into past human populations and other hominid species. Scientists from the Museum of La Plata examined the genetic foundations of dental morphology in current Latin American populations.
Among the findings, variations in dental shape were linked to interbreeding with Neanderthals in Europe, with these populations retaining between 2% and 5% of Neanderthal DNA, underscoring the close relationship between humans and other hominid species.
The Neanderthal, a subspecies of the genus Homo, existed during the Middle Pleistocene, inhabiting Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia until approximately 40,000 years ago, coexisting with anatomically modern humans. The first Neanderthal fossil, known as Neanderthal 1, was discovered in Germany's Neander Valley in the mid-19th century.
Currently, dental morphology serves to reconstruct the history and evolution of contemporary human populations and is even utilized in forensic identification. In cases where DNA recovery is not possible, dental shape provides crucial information about diet, identity, age, sex, ancestry, and biological relationships.
Traditionally, studies on dental morphology relied on the assumption that it is strongly influenced by genes. However, this assumption was only partially supported by evidence, as few studies examined current human populations while simultaneously gathering data on dental morphology and DNA.
“We employed cutting-edge genomic technology and a novel approach called multi-omics, integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics to investigate the genetic basis of dental morphology in contemporary Latin American populations,” explained Miguel Delgado, an anthropologist and researcher at the Museum of Natural Sciences of UNLP and CONICET.
“This unprecedented work provides key insights into the genetic architecture of dental morphology in living and fossil hominins, as well as the genetic load of various investigated phenotypes, including their role in genetic diseases,” he added.
Understanding the genes involved in dental development could lead to gene therapies for conditions like agenesis, which results in missing teeth, or congenital defects in dental tissues, ultimately improving the quality of life for affected individuals.