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Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Central Institute for Experimental Animals and Keio University injected the gene ARHGAP11B, the code responsible for the direction of stem cells in the human brain, into the dark matter of fetuses. marmoset. And the scientists found that primate’s most basic brains quickly became more human-like.
They specifically developed significantly advanced neocortexes, areas that control both cognition and language.
According to images published in the journal Science, the modified monkey brains nearly doubled in size after nearly 100 days of gestation.
Dr Michael Heide, lead author of the study, said: ‘We found that the common marbled neocortex of the brain was enlarged and the surface of the brain folded.
“[We also saw] increase in the number of upper layer neurons, the type of neuron that increases in the evolution of primates. “
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It is a state-of-the-art technique that uses embryonic stem cells to contribute to a mammal’s reproductive cells (germ cells) that are genetically transmitted to an offspring.
Dr Wieland Huttner of MPI-CBG and author of the study, said in a statement: “We limited our analyzes to marmoset fetuses because we predicted that the expression of this human-specific gene would affect the development of neocortex in the marmoset.
“In light of the potential unpredictable consequences regarding postnatal brain function, we considered a prerequisite – and ethically mandatory – to first determine the effects of ARHGAP11B on the development of the fetal marmoset neocortex.”
ARHGAP11B arose through partial duplication of the ARHGAP11A closure-related gene about five million years ago along the evolutionary lineage that led to the Neanderthals, Denisovans and their modern ancestors: us.
The researchers isolated several subpopulations of human brain stem cells and identified which genes are active in which cell type.
Tests carried out on mouse embryos at the time revealed that the gene can have a huge impact on brain development.
ARHGAP11B, when expressed in mice at non-physiologically elevated levels, causes a widely expanded neocortex.
Embryos that were injected with the gene developed larger brain regions and some developed the wrinkled surface that is characteristic of the human brain.
MPI-CBG fellow lead author Dr Marta Florio said in a statement: “It is so interesting that a small gene alone may be enough to influence the stem cell phenotype, which contributed most to the expansion of the neocortex. . “
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