Comparative brain transcriptome and epigenome analyses deciphering molecular basis of humanness

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25711027
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Physical anthropology
• Research Institution: Center for Novel Science Initatives, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
• Principal Investigator: Go Yasuhiro 大学共同利用機関法人自然科学研究機構(新分野創成センター), 新分野創成センター, 特任准教授 (50377123)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ゲノム / トランスクリプトーム / 霊長類 / 類人猿 / 脳 / 進化 / チンパンジー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Rapid growth in high-throughput genomic biology opens new directions for studies focusing on human evolution and search for the molecular basis of human uniqueness. One of such direction is neurogenomics, a discipline bordering functional genomics and neuroscience. Neurogenomics aims to uncover how the genome contributes to the structure and function of the nervous system. Here we investigated transcriptome features distinguishing human brain regions from those of non-human apes by using eight distinct brain regions. The results show extensive transcriptome divergence among species in all brain regions, as well as excess of human-specific transcriptome changes in all brain regions except hippocampus. Furthermore, we identified thousands of human-specific expression changes in particular regions, providing candidate genes potentially linked to the unique functions of human brain. Taken together, our analysis provides insights into the evolution of brain region functionality to humans.

Free Research Field

神経ゲノム科学