FoxP2 expression in avian vocal learners and non-learners.
Abstract
Most vertebrates communicate acoustically, but few, among them humans, dolphins and
whales, bats, and three orders of birds, learn this trait. FOXP2 is the first gene
linked to human speech and has been the target of positive selection during recent
primate evolution. To test whether the expression pattern of FOXP2 is consistent with
a role in learned vocal communication, we cloned zebra finch FoxP2 and its close relative
FoxP1 and compared mRNA and protein distribution in developing and adult brains of
a variety of avian vocal learners and non-learners, and a crocodile. We found that
the protein sequence of zebra finch FoxP2 is 98% identical with mouse and human FOXP2.
In the avian and crocodilian forebrain, FoxP2 was expressed predominantly in the striatum,
a basal ganglia brain region affected in patients with FOXP2 mutations. Strikingly,
in zebra finches, the striatal nucleus Area X, necessary for vocal learning, expressed
more FoxP2 than the surrounding tissue at post-hatch days 35 and 50, when vocal learning
occurs. In adult canaries, FoxP2 expression in Area X differed seasonally; more FoxP2
expression was associated with times when song becomes unstable. In adult chickadees,
strawberry finches, song sparrows, and Bengalese finches, Area X expressed FoxP2 to
different degrees. Non-telencephalic regions in both vocal learning and non-learning
birds, and in crocodiles, were less variable in expression and comparable with regions
that express FOXP2 in human and rodent brains. We conclude that differential expression
of FoxP2 in avian vocal learners might be associated with vocal plasticity.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Alligators and CrocodilesAnimals
Birds
Brain
Cloning, Molecular
Cues
Forkhead Transcription Factors
In Situ Hybridization
Learning
Male
Molecular Sequence Data
Molecular Weight
Neuronal Plasticity
Neurons
Protein Isoforms
Repressor Proteins
Species Specificity
Transcription Factors
Vocalization, Animal
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11233Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4369-03.2004Publication Info
Haesler, Sebastian; Wada, Kazuhiro; Nshdejan, A; Morrisey, Edward E; Lints, Thierry;
Jarvis, Eric D; & Scharff, Constance (2004). FoxP2 expression in avian vocal learners and non-learners. J Neurosci, 24(13). pp. 3164-3175. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4369-03.2004. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11233.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Erich David Jarvis
Adjunct Professor in the Deptartment of Neurobiology
Dr. Jarvis' laboratory studies the neurobiology of vocal communication. Emphasis is
placed on the molecular pathways involved in the perception and production of learned
vocalizations. They use an integrative approach that combines behavioral, anatomical,
electrophysiological and molecular biological techniques. The main animal model used
is songbirds, one of the few vertebrate groups that evolved the ability to learn vocalizations.
The generality of the discoveries is tested in other vocal lear

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