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3 unusual facts about FOXP2 and human evolution


FOXP2 and human evolution

On the other hand, analysis of FOXP2, using the chromatin immunoprecipitation technique, revealed that it binds onto and directly down-regulates expression of CNTNAP2, a gene found to be associated with nonsense-word repetition, a major marker of SLI.

For example, LIN-3, a forkhead protein in C. Elegans, regulates vulva development and when phosphorylated acts as a transcriptional activator, promoting cells to adopt a particular cell type.

Importantly, knowledge of such genes, e.g. CNTNAP2, and also those that regulate FOXP2, will enable better understanding of FOXP2’s role in speech and language, the genetic makeup of these processes themselves and ultimately why the gene is under such positive selection.



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