454 Life Sciences And Max Planck Institute Complete Draft 1X Sequence of Neanderthal Genome

BRANFORD, Conn. & LEIPZIG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a press conference held on February 12 in Leipzig, Germany, and simultaneously at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and 454 Life Sciences announced the completion of the 1X draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome. The announcement draws closure to an ambitious sequencing project initiated by the team in July 2006 and highlights the tremendous technological advancements necessary to achieve this breakthrough in molecular anthropology. The team also announced the completion of the 18-fold draft sequence of the Bonobo genome, an endangered ape closely related to the Common Chimpanzee and distantly to humans. Detailed analysis of both the Neanderthal and Bonobo genomes will significantly advance our understanding of the human evolutionary history.