Are there blue tigers? Maltese blue tiger - myth or reality
Leipzig, Germany, under the leadership of Kay Prüfer and Svante Pääbo, studied the nuclear genome of a Neanderthal lady who lived in Altai about 50 thousand years ago. Like any serious research, this work has a backstory. Svante Pääbo and his colleagues began sequencing the Neanderthal nuclear genome back in 2006. This is no easy task, since ancient DNA has long since fallen apart and is often contaminated with nucleic acids from microbes and modern humans. However, in 2010, they found out that Neanderthals gave their genes to Homo sapiens living outside of Africa.
Now scientists have obtained a refined version of the genome, in which the position of each nucleotide has been adjusted at least 50 times.
Bence Viola Phalanx of a Neanderthal woman's finger
The material for the study was DNA from the phalanx ring finger or little finger adult woman, who lived in Denisova Cave in Altai. The phalanx was found in 2010 by Denisova Cave researchers Anatoly Derevyanko and Mikhail Shunkov and transferred for analysis to Leipzig.
The Neanderthal population of Denisova Cave should not be confused with Denisovans.
They lived there a little later, about 40 thousand years ago, and although they were related to Asian Neanderthals, they were independent group genus Homo. by the same group of researchers led by Svante Pääbo and also from the phalanx of the finger.
The genome showed that the parents of the Neanderthal woman were closely related. These were relatives or cousins, or maybe uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, grandfather and granddaughter, grandmother and grandson. Scientists have concluded that consanguineous marriages were common among Neanderthals and Denisovans as they lived in small groups and were limited in the choice of pairing. Researchers believe that the number of Neanderthals and Denisovans was steadily declining at that time, their time was coming to an end.
A comparison of the genomes of Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans showed that different groups hominid in Late Pleistocene, 12-126 thousand years ago, met, communicated and left offspring.
Gene exchange did not occur often, but quite regularly.
Bence Viola Excavations in Denisova Cave
About 77-114 thousand years ago, Neanderthals split into Asian and European populations. Neanderthals who lived in the Caucasus exchanged genes with the ancestors of modern Eurasians and inhabitants of Australia and Oceania, Altai Neanderthals with Denisovan people, Denisovans from unknown caves with the ancestors of modern inhabitants of mainland Asia and American Indians.
The Neanderthal contribution to the genome of modern Eurasians is, according to researchers, from 1.5 to 2.1%.
And the genome of Denisovan man, unlike Neanderthal man, contains 2.7-5.8% of the DNA of some unknown ancient hominids. Perhaps they separated 1.2-4 million years ago from the ancestors of modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans. Researchers do not rule out that this mysterious ancestor is Homo erectus, the fossilized bones of which anthropologists have found, but whose DNA sequence has not yet been deciphered. Further research will show whether this is true.
Scientists have compiled a list of DNA sequences that distinguish modern humans from our closest extinct relatives. The list of differences turned out to be quite short. The changes also affect genes responsible for cell division and regulation of other genes. In order to find out how these modifications affected the appearance modern man and its biology, geneticists need to work further.
The fact that the species of ancient people discovered in 2010 in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains was more culturally and spiritually developed than its contemporary Neanderthal was concluded by the author of the find, Academician of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS Anatoly Derevyanko. They say that the life around him was too advanced for those times - the Denisovan could not only sharpen tools well, but even drill holes, and made a lot of interesting decorations. Now the cultural superiority of the Denisovans over the Neanderthals has been confirmed by geneticists. And in general, we found out a lot of interesting details...
The Denisovan knew what was “good” and what was “bad”...
As the basis for our research, we took DNA samples from both Denisovans and Neanderthals, as well as other varieties of ancient people aged from 30 to 40 thousand years and older,” Dmitry Afonnikov, candidate of biological sciences, head of the laboratory of evolutionary bioinformatics and theoretical genetics of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, told Komsomolskaya Pravda. . - And compared their microRNAs. For those who don’t know, this is a gene structure that interacts with the matrix ribonucleic acid and regulates protein synthesis in a group of genes at once.
Simply put, microRNA is a natural stop valve, which, like an arbiter, decides which traits will dominate in us and which ones will die out. So, as it turned out, 3 microRNAs in Denisovan and 7 in Neanderthal turned out to be especially interesting. However, they performed completely different functions - thanks to them, Neanderthals became stronger, and Denisovans became smarter. And beyond his years!
In order to somehow adapt, Neanderthal man had to have good tissue regeneration, says researcher Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Candidate of Biological Sciences Konstantin Vladimirovich Gunbin, - And we were lucky enough to find those microRNAs that are precisely responsible for these processes. But in the case of the Denisovan, they directly regulate the work of genes that are responsible for the formation and functioning of the prefrontal zone of the cerebral cortex - it is primarily responsible for receiving and processing information, as well as the ability to live normally in society, distinguish between good and bad deeds and foresee consequences of your actions.
...and “got smarter” faster than modern man!
Moreover, as scientists believe, the brain of the person from Denisova Cave developed even faster than that of the modern one.
This is evidenced by the number of mutations in the genes responsible for frontal zone brain,” explains geneticist Dmitry Afonnikov. “The Denisovans have a lot of them, so we can say that they “got smarter” faster than modern people. We cannot yet say this unequivocally. But experience suggests that everything was exactly like that - in any case, the minds of modern humans and monkeys evolve according to such an algorithm.
But, as you know, both branches - Neanderthals and Denisovans - turned out to be dead ends. Which, however, does not mean that they disappeared in the dust of millennia without any trace. For example, ancient homo sapiens, as a result of crossing, borrowed immunity against viral infections from Denisovans. This is especially true for the inhabitants of distant Malaysia - it has already been established that their ancestors “became friends” with the Denisovans most closely - forever accepting from 4 to 6 genes of “Altai Man” into their gene pool.
From the KP dossier
IN scientific journal"Nature" in 2010 published two publications concerning the phalanx of the little finger of a creature found in 2008 in Denisova Cave in Altai by scientists from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS. Among the authors of the materials are the Director of the Institute, Academician Anatoly Panteleevich Derevyanko and his deputy for scientific work Doctor of Historical Sciences Mikhail Vasilyevich Shunkov. The research was carried out by an international team with the participation of both Russian specialists, and the famous paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany), who previously led work on deciphering the Neanderthal genome. The editors of the journal "Nature" also outlined the study of the remains ancient ancestors person on the list of the twelve most significant events 2010 in the world of science.
Because, apart from eyewitness accounts, there is no evidence of its existence. To today people were unable to find this animal either dead or alive, there are not even photographs. Although from time to time there are reports from Fujian, as well as from Korea and Burma about the appearance of a tiger. Despite the name, the animal has nothing to do with Malta. It's all about the color of his coat. According to eyewitnesses' descriptions, the predator has dark gray stripes with bluish fur.
It just so happens that domestic cats with a bluish-gray hue are called Maltese, because there are so many of them on the island. For the first time about unusual predator the world learned from missionary and hunter Harry R. Caldwell. An American killed a dozen during his trip to China. big cats, but the Maltese blue tiger did not succumb to him, but only teased him and disappeared, like a ghostly vision. According to Caldwell, he saw the animal in the vicinity of Fuzhou. At first he mistook him for a bending peasant in blue clothes, but then he saw the head of a tiger. The hunter could not shoot right away, because children were running nearby, and while he was trying it on and changing position, the predator ran away.
The Maltese blue tiger has been encountered and local residents. The Chinese claimed that “black devils” really roamed near the villages. Caldwell and his son repeatedly organized expeditions to search for this mysterious animal; they even managed to find scraps of its fur on the branches of bushes, but nothing more. Maltese tiger has very beautiful wool. The main color is bluish-gray, on the belly it is a little lighter, against this background the
Most likely, this is a subspecies on the verge of extinction. It is likely that individuals with a similar color could have completely disappeared from the face of the earth, although reports of their appearance appear from time to time. Many skeptics do not believe that the Maltese blue tiger exists, because there is no evidence. Caldwell is not a liar, but there are still no photographs or expert testimony. Some researchers believe that people might have mistook the Maltese for an ordinary yellow tiger wallowing in the mud.
The fact of the existence of such an animal cannot be openly denied. The Maltese Blue Tiger can be produced by a combination of the degeneracy gene and the non-agouti gene. Of course, this is very difficult, since such predators would be practically black or gray with barely visible stripes. However, nothing is impossible in nature, because blacks were also considered a fiction and a myth for a long time until their skin was discovered. one of them may be the Maltese tiger.
No one has yet been able to take a photo of the predator, but it should be recognized that in some isolated populations genetic drift can provoke abnormal coat color. If the mutation has no effect negative influence on the development of the animal, the species is able to spread quite quickly. If Maltese tigers exist, there are no more than three dozen of them.
The Maltese, or blue tiger, is a legendary large cat with stripes like a tiger. Most often, reports about it come from eyewitnesses from the southern part of China. They claim that this animal has bluish fur with dark gray stripes.
The term "Maltese" refers to the blue fur of domestic cats, which is actually a bluish-gray shade. In Malta you can find many cats with a similar color, which gives such meaning to the adjective “Maltese”.
It is possible that Maltese tigers were a subspecies South China tiger, which is now under threat of extinction, so that individuals with “blue” alleles (forms of the gene) could have completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Encouragingly, reports of blue tigers have also come from Burma (Myanmar) and Korea, the homeland of the Siberian tigers. Experts are quite skeptical about such evidence, some even believe that Maltese tigers are ordinary orange tigers rolling around in the mud. But black tigers have also long been considered a myth, and several skins found have proven that melanistic tigers do exist. Such tigers are not completely black, their black stripes are much wider than usual, so the main orange almost invisible.
The theory of the existence of the blue tiger is supported by the fact that representatives of the cat family of blue color are not at all uncommon. There are known breeds of domestic cats, such as the Russian Blue, various British Shorthairs, and the British Blue. Blue lynxes are also found. Some genetic mutations and their combinations can cause bluish tint, or at least the impression that the animal's fur is a bluish-gray color.
In order for the fur to be Maltese tabby, pheomelanin production must be suppressed (to replace orange with grey) but agouti must be retained (for striping). Most likely, melanism is also present here, because, as Caldwell reported, the tiger's belly was not pure white. A similar genotype is known in cheetahs: it causes their fur to become bluish-gray with a pattern the color of dark gray slate.
In isolated populations, genetic changes can cause unusual mutations, such as abnormal coloration, and if the mutation is not harmful, it can spread quickly.
This is the information that accompanies these photographs you have probably seen on the Internet: The unique Maltese tiger is the most... rare species tigers in the world. It is also known as the blue tiger. Habitat: Fuzhian Province, China. According to eyewitnesses, this cat has bluish fur with dark gray stripes. The term "Maltese" comes from felinologist (cat lovers) terminology for blue fur and refers to the bluish-gray coloring of the animals. Majority maltese tigers, reported belong to the South China subspecies. About existence blue tigers also reported from Myanmar and South Korea.
But still, let's still study the theme of the blue tiger... -
There is a version that modern world unlike the era of great geographical discoveries, it is not filled with the spirit of exploring new lands and amazement from meeting with unusual animals. IN human consciousness the idea has taken root that all territories have been explored, and all unusual creatures have already been described by naturalists and zoologists. It is believed that thanks to modern level development environment impossible to open new look or a subspecies of creatures belonging to the category of large animals.
However, there is evidence of the existence of many creatures that have not yet been included in the register of living things by zoologists and naturalists. These unusual, large and unrecognized creatures by official science include maltese tiger.
Cryptozoology is one of the most interesting areas modern biology. Representatives of this non-academic (yet) scientific discipline are engaged in the search for mythical and non-existent animals, including those that are believed to be extinct. Blue tigers are one of the most popular legends of this kind: according to some information, such animals were seen in China about a century ago.
The first evidence of this animal's existence came in 1910 from an American priest named Gary Caldwell. (Gary Caldwell). Gary Caldwell was not only the man who introduced the people of southeast China to the basics Protestant faith, but also an avid hunter of big cats. The overwhelming majority of tigers he encountered had normal color, but one animal captured the hunter’s imagination. This tiger had a silver-blue skin streaked with inky black stripes. Gary Caldwell was never able to kill this beast, but carefully described his encounter with this unusual tiger in his book " Blue Tiger"(The Blue Tiger, 1924). Having trampled his hunting pride, he preserved the description of the Maltese tiger and the area in which this animal lives.
The missionary's story was not believed, so he announced a reward for the capture of this animal. Many experienced hunters, flattered by a lot of money, took part in the search, but failed to track down the unique predator - the missionary’s words remained an unsubstantiated “tale”.
After the incident with the missionary, information about these animals periodically comes from different corners globe.
Another book of interest to cryptozoologists eager to find the silver-gray tiger are travel notes Gary Caldwell's associate named Roy Chapman Andrews (Roy Chapman Andrews). Mention of an unusual tiger is contained in the seventh chapter of Roy Andrews's travel diary, published in 1918.
The famous British cryptozoologist Karl Shuker, in his work “The Mysterious Cats of the World,” quotes both the work of Gary Caldwell and “Camps and Trails in China” by Roy Andrews.
Cryptozoologists and adherents of official zoology fight each other, defending opposing points of view: the former believe that maltese tiger exists, while the latter believe that tigers with silver-gray fur do not exist. However, official zoology recognizes the existence of the Maltese tiger. In 1960, a tiger with a silver-gray skin streaked with black stripes was born at the Oklahoma Zoo. The animal lived to a ripe old age, and after death unusual tiger They made a stuffed animal. This little known fact confirms the theory of cryptozoologists that Maltese tigers live on the southeastern outskirts of China. Representatives of official science have not discovered Maltese tigers in this difficult-to-research territory, but this does not refute the existence of such tigers in the wild.
The amazingly elegant color combination characteristic of the skin of Maltese tigers is due to mutation. Most likely, Maltese tigers, sporting a silver-blue coat with black stripes, were exposed to genetic mutation, causing the inability to reproduce a pigment such as phelomelin. It is the action of phelomelanin that explains the golden-red color of ordinary tigers. If the animal’s body is not able to create this pigment, then the fur has a bluish-gray tint.
It is unknown whether they have survived maltese tigers V wildlife. It cannot be said with certainty that zoologists will soon receive evidence of the existence in the wild of these big cats, which have already become a legend and are on the same level as black lions, white and blue cheetahs. It is quite possible that Maltese tigers will remain legendary creatures, and there is scant evidence of the possibility of the existence of these beautiful creatures There will be notes from travelers and the only stuffed Maltese tiger born in captivity.
Although the existence of Maltese tigers has not yet been documented, cryptozoologists suggest that this could be the reason blue tigers' fur. Theoretically, this phenomenon could be caused by a malfunction of the agouti gene, which is responsible for the striped coloration present in many cats, dogs and some other animal species. In some cases (usually in domestic cats), there is a disruption in the production of the pigment pheomelanin, resulting in yellow and orange tint the fur has a bluish color.
Maybe, of course, cryptozoologists will celebrate their victory and present the blue tiger to the world, but for now I can completely show you the originals of those photographs that are usually used to visualize the blue tiger.