• Genetics: A new chimpanzee hidden in the DNA of bonobos
  • 11.6 million years ago. The ape that lived in the trees but was able to walk like humans

Hundreds of thousands of years ago an ape of more than three meters tall and 500 kg in weight - twice as much as an adult gorilla - ran through the forests of China, India and Vietnam. We know the existence of Gigantophitecus , which belonged to an extinct genus of hominoid primates, thanks to fossils of its teeth and partial remains of jaws; Its molars (up to 2.5 cm in size) were sold for a long time in Asia as dragon teeth in traditional medicine.

In 1935 a handful of them fell into the hands of German anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald, who discovered his true origin. However, since then, the evolutionary history of this ape remains largely incomplete due to the shortage of skeletal bones and the lack of genetic and molecular traces .

Now, researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Barcelona (IBE, UPF-CSIC) and the Globe Institute of Copenhagen have succeeded for the first time sequencing proteins obtained from the enamel of one of those teeth , which has allowed us to isolate genetic information from a specimen of this extinct giant that lived in a subtropical area of ​​southern China 1.9 million years ago. From the molecular analysis the authors have been able to specify the evolutionary position of the Gigantopithecus , pointing to the orangutans as their closest living relative. Their results are published this Wednesday in the journal Nature .

"The analysis reveals that Gigantopithecus blacki belongs to the same clade as the orangutan," says Tomàs Marquès-Bonet, a researcher at the National Center for Genomic Analysis and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP) and co-author of the article, "although its separation is far away, they certainly shared a common ancestor . "

The study is an important innovation in the field of evolutionary biology, since it is the first time that so old genetic material is recovered in a warm and humid environment . The great primates of the past lived in rainforests, where the acidity of the soil causes the organic matter to decompose very quickly, so the chances of finding fossils with DNA in good condition are remote.

But now the successful sequencing of proteins with an age of two million years opens a new alternative to obtain genetic information, largely thanks to advances in mass spectrometry. This analysis technique allows to analyze with great precision the composition of different chemical elements and determine the distribution of the molecules according to their mass.

Artistic recreation of 'Gigantopithecus blacki'IKUMI KAYAMA

"Until now, all that was known about this species was based on the morphology of teeth and jaws, typical of a herbivore," says Enrico Cappellini, principal investigator at the University of Copenhagen, "now, paleoproteomic analysis has allowed us to reconstruct the ancient evolutionary history of this distant relative of the sapiens . "

Too big to survive

Previous studies had suggested that the large dimensions and poor diversity of their diet condemned the Gigantophitecus to extinction. During the last Pleistocene glaciations, more than 100,000 years ago, wooded areas gave way to savanna landscapes. And the Gigantopithecus , which based its diet on fruits , did not adapt to the grass, roots and leaves that became the predominant food sources in its new environment.

However, no complete skull or other bone from the rest of the skeleton has been found so far, so many questions about the appearance of this mysterious animal remain unsolved: experts doubt whether their hair was reddish, like that of the orangutan, or black like that of the gorilla.

For now, the recovery of molecular material has allowed the team to compare its proteome (all proteins expressed in a cell) with that of other current species. "The analysis of ancient DNA is not an option because Gigantopithecus became extinct approximately 300,000 years ago without" Cappellini, "and in the geographical area it occupied, they have not been able to recover there are DNA remains over 10,000 years old."

Jaw of the extinct apeWEI WANG

In recent years DNA analysis has revolutionized our understanding of human history. The genetic material preserved in the fossils of our ancestors has allowed us to reconstruct the last 50,000 years of evolution of hominids.

Even so, the oldest remains of the genus Homo with analysable genetic material date back 400,000 years ago, leaving a gap in evolutionary history that paleogenomics still cannot explain. " For now this technique has allowed us to recover fossilized proteins in the molar enamel, " says Marquès-Bonet, "but it could also be used with many other bone remains to reveal human evolution, which we still do not know to a great extent."

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