Molecular comparison of Neanderthal and Modern Human adenylosuccinate lyase

The availability of genomic data from extinct homini such as Neanderthals has caused a revolution in palaeontology allowing the identification of modern human-specific protein substitutions. Currently, little is known as to how these substitutions alter the proteins on a molecular level. Here, we investigate adenylosuccinate lyase, a conserved enzyme involved in purine metabolism for which several substitutions in the modern human protein...