Question

Did Neanderthals produce vitamin C, and at what point in evolution did the ability to synthesize vitamin C get lost?

a. Neanderthals retained the ability to produce vitamin C.
b. The loss of vitamin C synthesis occurred in the common ancestor of Haplorhini.
c. Vitamin C synthesis was lost in Neanderthals.
d. The loss of vitamin C synthesis happened after the split of Strepsirrhini and Haplorhini.

Answer 1

Neanderthals did not have the ability to synthesize vitamin C because this function was lost in the common ancestor of the suborder Haplorhini, to which both Neanderthals and modern humans belong.

Step-by-step explanation:

Neanderthals, like all other mammals except for some bats, some passeriform birds, guinea pigs, and primates, had the ability to produce vitamin C. The answer to the question is b. The loss of vitamin C synthesis occurred in the common ancestor of Haplorhini. The Haplorhini suborder which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and tarsiers, lost the ability to synthesize vitamin C due to a mutation in the enzyme L-gluconolactone oxidase (GULO), which is necessary to convert glucose to vitamin C. This mutation is believed to have occurred around 61 million years ago, long before the evolution of Neanderthals. Being relatives of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals would also not have had this ability and would have obtained vitamin C from their diet, much like modern humans do.