CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.
Genes Brain Behav. 2021 Sep;20(7):e12764. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12764. Epub 2021 Sep 1.
The transcription factor FoxP2 is involved in setting up the neuronal circuitry for vocal learning in mammals and birds and is thought to have played a special role in the evolution of human speech and language. It has been shown that an allele with a humanized version of the murine Foxp2 gene changes the ultrasonic vocalization of mouse pups compared to pups of the wild-type inbred strain. Here we tested if this humanized allele would also affect the ultrasonic vocalization of adult female and male mice. In a previous study, in which only male vocalization was considered and the mice were recorded under a restricted spatial and temporal regime, no difference in adult vocalization between genotypes was found. Here, we use a different test paradigm in which both female and male vocalizations are recorded in extended social contact. We found differences in temporal, spectral and syntactical parameters between the genotypes in both sexes, and between sexes. Mice carrying the humanized Foxp2 allele were using higher frequencies and more complex syllable types than mice of the corresponding wildtype inbred strain. Our results support the notion that the humanized Foxp2 allele has a differential effect on mouse ultrasonic vocalization. As mice carrying the humanized version of the Foxp2 gene show effects opposite to those of mice carrying disrupted or mutated alleles of this gene, we conclude that this mouse line represents an important model for the study of human speech and language evolution.
转录因子 FoxP2 参与了哺乳动物和鸟类的发声学习的神经元回路的建立，并且被认为在人类言语和语言的进化中发挥了特殊作用。已经表明，与野生型近交系的幼鼠相比，具有鼠类 Foxp2 基因的人类化等位基因的等位基因改变了幼鼠的超声波发声。在这里，我们测试了这种人类化的等位基因是否也会影响成年雌性和雄性小鼠的超声波发声。在以前的研究中，仅考虑了雄性发声，并且在受限的时空条件下记录了小鼠，在基因型之间未发现成年发声的差异。在这里，我们使用不同的测试范例，在扩展的社交接触中记录了雌性和雄性的发声。我们发现，在性别之间以及性别之间，基因型之间在时间，光谱和句法参数上存在差异。携带人类化 Foxp2 等位基因的小鼠比相应的野生型近交系小鼠使用更高的频率和更复杂的音节类型。我们的结果支持这样的观点，即人类化的 Foxp2 等位基因对小鼠的超声波发声具有不同的影响。由于携带人类化 Foxp2 基因的小鼠表现出与携带该基因的破坏或突变等位基因的小鼠相反的效果，因此我们得出结论，该小鼠品系代表了研究人类言语和语言进化的重要模型。
