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Related Concept Videos

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

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Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

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The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
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While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.
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John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
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Related Experiment Video

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Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience
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Transcriptomic insights into human brain evolution: acceleration, neutrality, heterochrony.

Mehmet Somel1, Rori Rohlfs2, Xiling Liu3

  • 1Department of Biology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|September 19, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human brain evolution shows complex transcriptome changes. While the human prefrontal cortex evolved more than chimpanzees, most differences likely stem from neutral evolution, with adaptive changes possibly rare and linked to developmental timing shifts.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Primate brain transcriptome studies over the last 12 years present conflicting findings on evolutionary mechanisms and their role in human cognitive evolution.
  • The human prefrontal cortex transcriptome appears to have diverged more significantly than the chimpanzee's since the last common ancestor.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconcile contradictory observations regarding primate brain transcriptome evolution.
  • To investigate the adaptive versus neutral contributions to expression differences in the human brain.
  • To identify potential mechanisms, such as heterochrony, underlying adaptive brain evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of primate brain transcriptomes.
  • Distinguishing between neutral and adaptive genetic/regulatory changes.
  • Investigating neurodevelopmental timing shifts (heterochrony).

Main Results:

  • Most interspecies gene expression differences in adult brains seem to result from neutral evolution at cis-regulatory sites.
  • Adaptive expression changes in the human brain may be infrequent and associated with alterations in the timing of neurodevelopmental processes.

Conclusions:

  • Disentangling adaptive and neutral evolutionary forces requires advanced methodologies and broader cross-species comparisons.
  • Further research into comparative neurodevelopment is crucial for linking expression changes to human-specific brain features.