Scientists sequence Genghis Khan’s descendent
December 21, 2011 in NEWS by Suzanne Elvidge
A descendent of Genghis Kahn, the founder of the Mongol Empire, has joined the ranks of the sequenced. Researchers at the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University have sequenced the entire genome of one of the Mongolian leader’s 34th generation descendants. This descendent is not lonely, however – up to half a percent of the world’s population may be related to Genghis Khan.
Source: National Palace Museum in Taipei
The team plans to sequence 200 Mongolians in total and create a Mongolian DNA database. This research aims to find genome patterns specific to ethnic Mongolians, and understand more of the evolution of this group of people. Mongolian researchers sequenced the genomes of the Mongolian sheep, Alxa Bactrian camel, Mongolian horse and Mongolian cattle in 2011, but this is the first complete sequencing of a Mongolian person, as well as being the first human genome sequenced by this team.
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