TY - JOUR
T1 - RNA editing, DNA recoding and the evolution of human cognition
AU - Mattick, John S.
AU - Mehler, Mark F.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Ryan Taft and Irfan Qureshi for their assistance with the analysis of RNA editing, critical comments and helpful suggestions. J.S.M. is supported by an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship (FF0561986), as well as by the University of Queensland and the Queensland State Government. M.F.M. is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NS38902, MH66290, HD01799), as well as by the F.M. Kirby, the Rosanne H. Silbermann, the Alpern Family, the Lipid and the Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Foundations.
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - RNA editing appears to be the major mechanism by which environmental signals overwrite encoded genetic information to modify gene function and regulation, particularly in the brain. We suggest that the predominance of Alu elements in the human genome is the result of their evolutionary co-adaptation as a modular substrate for RNA editing, driven by selection for higher-order cognitive function. We show that RNA editing alters transcripts from loci encoding proteins involved in neural cell identity, maturation and function, as well as in DNA repair, implying a role for RNA editing not only in neural transmission and network plasticity but also in brain development, and suggesting that communication of productive changes back to the genome might constitute the molecular basis of long-term memory and higher-order cognition.
AB - RNA editing appears to be the major mechanism by which environmental signals overwrite encoded genetic information to modify gene function and regulation, particularly in the brain. We suggest that the predominance of Alu elements in the human genome is the result of their evolutionary co-adaptation as a modular substrate for RNA editing, driven by selection for higher-order cognitive function. We show that RNA editing alters transcripts from loci encoding proteins involved in neural cell identity, maturation and function, as well as in DNA repair, implying a role for RNA editing not only in neural transmission and network plasticity but also in brain development, and suggesting that communication of productive changes back to the genome might constitute the molecular basis of long-term memory and higher-order cognition.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tins.2008.02.003
DO - 10.1016/j.tins.2008.02.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 18395806
AN - SCOPUS:43049105810
SN - 0166-2236
VL - 31
SP - 227
EP - 233
JO - Trends in Neurosciences
JF - Trends in Neurosciences
IS - 5
ER -