Frogs and humans have evolved separately for 350 million years. That our brain abilities are quite different is something that is obvious. However, a team of scientists from the University of Toronto (Canada) has discovered that we both use a repertoire of very similar genes for the manufacture of organs in the body with a caveat related to the process known as alternative splicing – where gene products are assemble into proteins- and that would be the differential key between the two.
The paradigm of this process is a small molecular change in cells, responsible for the fact that humans have been able to evolve to become the most intelligent animal on the planet .
Researchers have revealed that this tiny change that makes us so different is associated with a protein called PTBP1 that can stimulate the creation of neurons and, therefore, mark the evolution of the mammalian brain, ultimately turning them into the largest and largest brains. most complex of all vertebrates.
Furthermore, the prevalence of alternative splicing increases as vertebrates become more complex . Therefore, despite the genetic similarity of many species, proteins are incredibly more diverse in animals such as mammals and much less in species such as frogs or birds.
The scientists identified PTBP1 with a different, much shorter shape in mammals that triggered a cascade of events: “An interesting implication of our work is that this particular change between the two versions of PTBP1 could have affected the time at which the neurons are generated in the embryo , so that differences are created in the morphological complexity and in the size of the brain ”, concludes Benjamin Blencowe, leader of the work.
The study has been published in the journal Science .
