Master-switch Gene FOXP2 is the reason why we can speak and chimps can't

(* speak the same way)

One gene 'prevents chimps talking'

A single gene that is dramatically different in chimpanzees and humans may explain why apes cannot talk.

The FOXP2 gene underwent rapid changes around the time that language emerged in people.

Scientists in the US have now learned that human and chimp versions of the gene not only look different but also function in very different ways. FOXP2 acts as a "master switch" for other genes, turning them on or off.

Scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scoured human DNA to see which areas are targeted by the gene. They then looked at what effect human and chimp forms of FOXP2 had on human cell lines. To their surprise, the two FOXP2 versions triggered different patterns of activity in the human genes.

"We found that a significant number of the newly-identified targets are expressed differently in human and chimpanzee brains," said study leader Dr Daniel Geschwind. "This suggests that FOXP2 drives these genes to behave differently in the two species."

Previous research has shown a close link between FOXP2 and the power of speech. The amino acid composition of the human version of the gene mutated and changed rapidly around the time language first developed.

The findings, reported in the journal Nature, may also help scientists understand how certain brain disorders such as autism and schizophrenia disrupt speech.

Co-author Dr Genevieve Konopka, also from UCLA, said: "Genetic changes between the human and chimp species hold the clues for how our brains developed their capacity for language.

"By pinpointing the genes influenced by FOXP2, we have identified a new set of tools for studying how human speech could be regulated at the molecular level."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091111/tsc-one-gene-prevents-chimps-talking-4b158bc.html