Evolutionary History of Bilaterian FoxP Genes: Complex Ancestral Functions and Evolutionary Changes Spanning 2R-WGD in the Vertebrate Lineage.

ABSTRACT: Human and fly FoxP homologs are well-known for their roles in the development of cognitive abilities. These findings have led to the hypothesis that the ancestral function of FoxP was in the development of cognitive neural circuits. However, complex brains in human and fly evolved independently, and the similar cognitive function of FoxP in human and fly may thus be interpreted as a result of convergent evolution. In addition, the 4 gnathostome FoxP paralogs also possess diverse developmental functions unrelated to neurodevelopment, which might have been overlooked in comparative studies of invertebrate FoxP homologs. To resolve these uncertainties, we set out to improve the phylogenetic reconstruction of vertebrate FoxP homologs and broaden the taxonomic sampling of gene expression profil

SUBMITTER: Tsai FY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11998571 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature