Brain difference or determined by ptbp1 protein

Science and technology daily, Beijing, August 21 (reporter Fang Linlin) a molecular event called ptbp1 protein can stimulate the generation of brain neurons, which may be the key to help mammalian brain evolve into the largest and most complex brain in vertebrates   The size and complexity of the brain vary greatly between vertebrates For example, both humans and frogs have experienced a long evolutionary process, but they have very different brains The number of genes in different vertebrate species is similar Why do organ sizes and complexity differ greatly?   A team led by Benjamin blanko and Banbury char at the University of Toronto in Canada recently found that gene fragments can form different shapes of proteins in a key process called alternative splicing (as) Like Lego building blocks, some fragments may be lost from the final protein shape   Generally speaking, as allows cells to form more than one protein from one gene, so the total number of proteins exceeds the number of genes One of the abilities of cells is to regulate the diversity of proteins, so although the genes controlling vertebrate bodies are very similar, the protein forms may be very different This as process is particularly common in the brain "We want to see if as can lead to differences in brain morphology between different vertebrate species," said Sergei golosov, a graduate student at the boranko lab   Previously, golosov's study found that the form of ptbp1 in mammals is different from that in vertebrates The protein called "the second form" of ptbp1 is shorter, and a small segment is omitted in the process of as   Can the second form provide clues to brain evolution? This study shows that the "second form" of ptbp1 releases a series of as events in mammalian cells, making the cells grow into neurons   "An interesting implication of this study is that the special switch between the two forms of ptbp1 may affect the way neurons are formed in the embryonic period, resulting in different complex shapes and brain sizes," said Blanco He points out that as scientists continue to sift through the molecular events that take place in cells, there will be more and more clues to why the human body and mind are so   Relevant papers were published in the latest issue of science.