Use the Following Information to Answer the Question(s) Below

question 46

Multiple Choice

Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
In the textbook you read about the amplification and sequencing of 30,000-year-old Neanderthal DNA to learn that it's unlikely Neanderthals and modern humans interbred. Let's take a closer look at this early work with ancient DNA (M. Krings, A. Stone, R.W. Schmitz, H. Krainitzki, M. Stoneking, and S. Pääbo. 1997. Neanderthal DNA sequences and the origin of modern humans. Cell 90:19-30) .
Here is part of the lead paragraph in the "Methods" section of the Krings et al. paper:
Protective clothing was worn throughout the sampling procedure. Instruments used were treated with 1 M HCl followed by extensive rinsing in distilled water. After removal, the sample was immediately put into a sterile tube for transport to Munich. All subsequent manipulations of the sample, and experimental procedures prior to cycling of PCR reactions, were carried out in laboratories solely dedicated to the analysis of archaeological specimens, where protective clothing, separate equipment and reagents, UV irradiation, and other measures to... .
A concluding paragraph of the Krings et al. paper states:
It must be emphasized that the above conclusions are based on a single individual sequence; the retrieval and analysis of mtDNA sequences from additional Neanderthal specimens is obviously desirable. If this proves possible, then the potential exists to address several questions concerning Neanderthals that hitherto could be studied exclusively by morphological and archaeological approaches. For example, the genetic relationship between Neanderthal populations in Europe and in western Asia could be explored, as could the demographic history of Neanderthal populations.
-Refer to the paragraphs on the Krings et al. paper. How could the "demographic history of Neanderthal populations" be explored if mitochondrial DNA from other Neanderthal samples could be PCR amplified?

• A) These Neanderthal sequences could be compared to those of modern humans to learn how modern humans evolved to walk on two legs (bipedalism).
• B) These Neanderthal sequences could be compared to those of modern humans; the more they differ, the more distant the time of divergence between the Neanderthal and modern human lineages.
• C) These Neanderthal sequences could be compared to each other to see how much they differ; the more they differ, the greater the divergence between these populations.
• D) In the attempt to amplify other Neanderthal DNAs, those that amplify must be from more modern populations and those that don't are from more ancient populations.

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