title: Human-specific genomic signatures of neocortical expansion.
abstract: Neocortex evolutionary expansion is primarily due to increased proliferative capacity of neural progenitor cells during cortical development. Exploiting insights into the cell biology of cortical progenitors gained during the past two decades, recent studies uncovered a variety of gene expression differences that underlie differential cortical progenitor behavior. These comprise both, differences between cortical areas that likely provide a molecular basis for cortical folding, and differences across species thought to be responsible for increases in neocortex size. Human-specific signatures have been identified for gene regulatory elements, non-coding gene products, and protein-encoding genes, and have been functionally examined in in vivo as well as novel in vitro model systems.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Florio
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas & Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain. Electronic address: vborrell@umh.es.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Borrell
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, D-01307 Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: huttner@mpi-cbg.de.
authors.forename: Wieland B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Huttner
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D015894:Genome, Human; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D019579:Neocortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity