Mice Carrying a 'Humanised' Gene Teach us About Speech and Language

Jonathan Whitburn
42052531

Wolfgang Enard of the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and his team have been studying mice carrying a "humanised gene"; in humans, this gene is believed to be responsible for speech and language. Enard and his team are interested in this gene in particular because it is one of the important genomic differences between humans and primates; what make the gene different are two amino acid substitutions in the gene FOXP2. Previous studies have shown that this gene has undergone positive selection, but only in humans because the gene wasn’t fixed until after the lineage broke between humans and chimpanzees. Important aspects of speech and language are thought to be the result of the evolutionary change. Mice, which have been used for mainly studies of disease, are now becoming tools for studying our history; that is, Enard and his team have been studying the effects of the humanised FOXP2 gene in mice.

The study showed that brain circuits, linked to human speech in previous studies, are present in mice containing the human FOXP2 gene. Enard and co. found that there are also qualitative differences in ultrasonic vocalisations between baby mice with the human gene and without; the vocalisations were brought about by placing the pups outside the mother's nest. There is not enough information, however, regarding mouse communication to look further into the qualitative changes. It is known that FOXP2 is active in other cells in the body, but in the mice, no other physical changes were recorded; the mice appeared to be healthy. Enard's team speculated that this gene could cause fine-tuning of motor control in the lungs, larynx, tongue and lips that cause articulation in speech.

Source:
Cathleen Genova
Cell Press
Original Article Title: ‘Humanized’ Mice Speak Volumes, retrieved from:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151866.php