Centre for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605 014, India.
Genomics. 2020 Sep;112(5):2922-2927. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2020.05.006. Epub 2020 May 7.
The emergence of a coordinated network of cognitive and speech genes in the human lineage performing overlapping functions is a great evolutionary puzzle. Prior studies on the speech gene FOXP2 are inconclusive on the nature of selection operating on this gene in the human lineage. Here, I show that the evolution of FOXP2 is accelerated in the human lineage due to relaxation of purifying selection (relaxed selection). Five potential genes associated with human-specific intelligence and speech genes have evolved under the impact of positive selection and three genes including FOXP2 have undergone relaxation of purifying selection in the human lineage. Overall, three evolutionary processes namely positive selection, relaxation of purifying selection and neutral evolution have contributed for the genomic evolution of extraordinary cognitive ability and speech in the hominin lineage. The cognitive and speech genes subjected to natural selection in the human lineage have demonstrated a coevolutionary trend.
人类谱系中出现协调的认知和言语基因网络，执行重叠功能，这是一个巨大的进化难题。先前关于言语基因 FOXP2 的研究对该基因在人类谱系中受到的选择性质没有定论。在这里，我表明 FOXP2 的进化在人类谱系中是加速的，这是由于纯化选择的放松（松弛选择）。五个与人类特异性智力相关的潜在基因和言语基因在正选择的影响下进化，包括 FOXP2 在内的三个基因在人类谱系中经历了纯化选择的放松。总的来说，三个进化过程，即正选择、纯化选择的放松和中性进化，为人类谱系中非凡认知能力和言语的基因组进化做出了贡献。在人类谱系中受到自然选择的认知和言语基因表现出共同进化的趋势。
