Dresden researchers find 599 regulatory differences in developing human and ape brains
A team led by Mareike Albert at TUD Dresden University of Technology compared stem-cell-grown brain organoids from humans, chimpanzees and gorillas. In the study, published in Nature Communications, researchers identified 599 candidate DNA regions that were more accessible in human neural stem cells and found that disrupting two genes affected cell structure; disrupting one also reduced neuron numbers.
Bottom line — The 599 regions are candidates, not 599 proven causes of the human brain’s expansion.
Go deeper 6
-
According to the study, these DNA regions may act like genetic dimmers, influencing when and how strongly shared genes are used.
-
The team disrupted FAM107A and CNGA3 in human organoids; both interventions reduced the share of stem cells with complex shapes.
-
FAM107A disruption reduced cell extensions and neuron numbers in examined organoid regions. CNGA3 disruption did not significantly change the individual structural measures tested.
-
The researchers also raised human FAM107A activity in chimpanzee organoids, with a structural effect resembling disruption in human organoids—evidence that the right level of activity may matter.
-
TUD Dresden says organoids let researchers study early development without obtaining brain tissue from protected great apes.
-
The study does not show that these experiments explain adult brain size, intelligence or the full evolutionary history of the human neocortex.