Compared to other great apes, human-specific variants of four microRNAs may have altered expression levels and gene targets, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alicia Gallego from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Spain, and colleagues.
MicroRNAs are post-transcriptional gene regulators known to be involved in almost every biological function. They are highly conserved among species and, while some differences exist, the effect of the variations is often unclear. The authors of the present study analysed over 1500 microRNAs to identify variations between humans and other great ape species, including orangutans, gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees, and the possible effect of these variations on function.
Epigenetics
In the recent years 'epigenetics' represents inheritable changes in gene expression that do not include DNA alterations.
The authors found that changes in the sequence and length of four microRNAs may be specific to humans. Two were highly expressed in brain tissue and may exert effects on genes with neural functions, while two exhibit restricted expression patterns that the authors posited implied a role in development. The authors also found that "age" might matter; in an evolutionary sense, "younger" microRNAs had less sequence conservation, expression and disease association, and were more isolated than "older" microRNAs.
Source: Eurekalert
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