Talk:FOXP2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is part of WikiProject Genetics, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to genetics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit this page, or visit the project page to join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. |
| ??? | This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale. |
| ??? | This article has not yet received an importance rating. |
 |
This article is within the scope of the Molecular and Cellular Biology WikiProject. To participate, visit the WikiProject for more information. The WikiProject's current monthly collaboration is focused on improving Restriction enzyme. |
||
| Start | This article has been rated as start-Class on the assessment scale. |
||
| Low | This article is on a subject of low-importance within molecular and cellular biology. | ||
|
Article Grading: The article has been rated for quality and/or importance but has no comments yet. If appropriate, please review the article and then leave comments here to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article and what work it will need. |
|||
The link to www.timesonline.co.uk appears to be broken.
D. F. Newbury, E. Bonora, J. A. Lamb, S. E. Fisher, C. S. L. Lai, G. Baird, L. Jannoun, V. Slonims, C. M. Stott, M. J. Merricks, P. F. Bolton, A. J. Bailey, A. P. Monaco (2002) "FOXP2 Is Not a Major Susceptibility Gene for Autism or Specific Language Impairment" in American Journal of Human Genetics.
- In the absence of any mutation or association evidence to suggest otherwise, we must therefore conclude that FOXP2 is unlikely to play a major role in the onset of autism or SLI.
I think FOXP2 is the name of a particular a locus not a gene. To call it a gene is misleading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.41.31.3 (talk • contribs) 23:01, 5 May 2006
From the NCBI Genbank database, "This gene encodes an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor expressed in fetal and adult brain. This transcription factor is a member of the forkhead/winged-helix (FOX) family of transcription factors, and contains a FOX DNA-binding domain and a large polyglutamine tract. Members of the FOX family of transcription factors are regulators of embryogenesis. The product of this gene is thought to be required for proper development of speech and language regions of the brain during embryogenesis. Although a point mutation in this gene has been associated with the KE pedigree segregating developmental verbal dyspraxia, no association between mutations in this gene and another speech disorder, autism, has been found. Four alternative transcripts encoding three different isoforms have been identified." Braingrind 00:14, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Development as morphogenesis vs. evolution
I don't think FOXP2's role in the evolution of language has been firmly established yet. FOXP2's protein sequence has had very few mutations across species and those that have occurred don't associate well with species that have learned vocalizations (humans, songbirds, certain marine mammals such as dolphins and whales, etc.). It is possible that the evolutionary shift to language wasn't a result of changes in the FOXP2 protein sequence but changes in the regulation of the FOXP2 protein. But so far a number of studies looking at FOXP2 expression patterns in the developing brains of diverse animals such as humans, mice, zebra finch, and zebrafish haven't shown many differences. So even brain expression patterns seem to be very conserved.
The jury is still out, but I would be more comfortable saying FOXP2 is involved in the development (morphogenesis) of structures necessary for language. Based on the developmental verbal dyspraxia phenotype in the KE family, this is hard to argue against. Even if FOXP2 wasn't involved in the evolution of language, it is definitely necessary for language. Forluvoft 17:42, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
