An RNA gene expressed during cortical development evolved rapidly in humans

Pollard, K. S., Salama, S. R., Lambert, N., Lambot, M. A., Coppens, S., Pedersen, J. S., Katzman, S., King, B., Onodera, C., Siepel, A., Kern, A. D., Dehay, C., Igel, H., Ares, M., Vanderhaeghen, P., Haussler, D. (September 2006) An RNA gene expressed during cortical development evolved rapidly in humans. Nature, 443 (7108). pp. 167-72. ISSN 0028-0836

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16915236
DOI: 10.1038/nature05113

Abstract

The developmental and evolutionary mechanisms behind the emergence of human-specific brain features remain largely unknown. However, the recent ability to compare our genome to that of our closest relative, the chimpanzee, provides new avenues to link genetic and phenotypic changes in the evolution of the human brain. We devised a ranking of regions in the human genome that show significant evolutionary acceleration. Here we report that the most dramatic of these 'human accelerated regions', HAR1, is part of a novel RNA gene (HAR1F) that is expressed specifically in Cajal-Retzius neurons in the developing human neocortex from 7 to 19 gestational weeks, a crucial period for cortical neuron specification and migration. HAR1F is co-expressed with reelin, a product of Cajal-Retzius neurons that is of fundamental importance in specifying the six-layer structure of the human cortex. HAR1 and the other human accelerated regions provide new candidates in the search for uniquely human biology.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Aging/genetics Animals Base Sequence Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal/genetics Cerebral Cortex/anatomy & histology/*embryology/*metabolism *Evolution, Molecular Extracellular Matrix Proteins/genetics Gene Expression Profiling *Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental Humans Macaca/genetics Molecular Sequence Data Mutation/genetics Neocortex/anatomy & histology/embryology/metabolism Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics Nucleic Acid Conformation Organ Specificity RNA Stability RNA, Untranslated/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism Serine Endopeptidases/genetics Time Factors
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > RNA regulation
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > cerebral cortex
evolution
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > genes, structure and function > gene expression
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Siepel lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 14 September 2006
Date Deposited: 13 Jan 2015 19:51
Last Modified: 13 Jan 2015 19:51
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/31091

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