In an attempt to unravel the mysteries of complex speech, a team of scientists inserted a supposed “gene of language” in rats.
According to, genetic modification had a surprising effect on rodent vocalizationsoffering fascinating clues about the evolution of vocal communication.
Mouse offspring with the human version of the gene showed different vocalization patterns from their companions with the typical version of the rats. When calling for the mother, their winches were more acute And with a different sound selection than usual.
“All mice emit ultrasonic winches to mothers, and language researchers categorize the various sounds in four ‘letters’ – s, d, u and M. We find that, at’translice‘The sounds emitted by rats with the human variant of the gene, these were different from the normal rats. Some of the ‘letters’ had changed, ”explained Robert B. DarnellAuthor of the study and head of the Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratory at Rockefeller University.
In adulthood, the genetically modifiedStill more interesting changes. In trying to attract a partner, males produced more complex vocalizations and at higher frequencies than normal rats.
All these changes are associated with change of a gene called Nova1which encodes a protein known as neuro-oncological ventral antigen 1 (Nova1). Other genes and environmental factors will also be involved in the emergence of complex vocal communication, but Nova1 seems to be a Key element.
It’s genes exists in a wide variety of animals – From birds to mammals – but with minor differences in humans. The human variant only alters one amino acid in the new protein chain1: from isoleucine to valine in position 197 (I197V).
Initially, the researchers found that this human variant of Nova1 did not alter the way protein bind to RNA in brain development or motor control. That is, it worked as the normal version of the rat. However, they discovered something unexpected: the human variant changed the connection of RNA in vocalization -related genes.
“In addition, many of these vocalization genes are also targets of the Nova1 connection, further suggesting their involvement in vocalization,” he added Yoko Tajimafirst author of the study and researcher at the Darnell Laboratory.
“We thought: wow. We were not waiting for this. It was one of those truly surprising moments in science, ”said Darnell.
The most impressive is that our closest evolutionary relatives – the Neanderthals and the Denisovanosa – They didn’t have this human variant. They had the same version of Nova1 protein as all other non -human animals.
“Our data show that an ancestral population of modern humans in Africa has evolved the human variant I197Vwhich later became dominant, perhaps by giving advantages in vocal communication. This population then left Africa and spread around the world, ”explained Darnell.
This means that our extinct hominid cousins did not have the genetic equipment necessary to speak as fluently as the Homo sapiens? If so, was that a crucial advantage What did you allow our species to prosper while the others disappeared? This study in the magazine Nature Communicationssuggests that yes – although the story is certainly more complex.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
