Common features of human and octopus brain genes
Naples: Evolutionary biology tells us that humans and other living things on earth have something in common.
A new study has found that the jumping genes in the brains of humans and octopuses are common.
More than 45% of the human genome is made up of links called transposons. These transposons are ‘jumping genes’ that can move from one place in the genome to another in a mess.
Research has shown that these “jumping genes” are active in two other species of octopus besides humans, one of the common octopus and the other of the California octopus.
These genes belong to the LINE family, the long interspersed nuclear element, found in hundreds of copies of the human genome.
Many scientists believe that LINE transposition is related to learning, memory and other thinking abilities.
“The octopus’ brain is similar in many respects to the human brain in terms of functionality,” said Graziano Fiorito, director of the biology department at Stazione Zoologica, an Italian research institute.
One of the researchers said that he jumped when he saw a sign of activity in the vertical part of the octopus. The vertical part of the octopus is a mold of the brain that is the center of the ability to learn and think, just as in humans the hippocampus has this responsibility.
The study, published in BMC Biology, was conducted by an international team of researchers and involved more than 20 researchers from around the world.
