Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:Q3V6T2 (ape)
 2,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism based on a 16 or 17-bp unit has been reported in the third intron of the human serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT). VNTRs have been shown to affect the transcriptional activity of genes, and VNTR polymorphisms possibly influence human personality and several psychoneurological disorders. To estimate the changes that occurred in the VNTRs during primate evolution, we amplified and sequenced the regions that corresponded to the human VNTRs in various primate species, including apes, Old World monkeys, and New World monkeys. The VNTR sequences were polymorphic in all the ape species examined, and alleles with repeat numbers of 18, 19, 23, and 24 in chimpanzees, 33, 35, 36, 38, and 40 in gorillas, 4 and 6 in orangutans, and 11, 13, 14, and 15 in gibbons were found. On the other hand, only a 5-repeat allele was detected in Old World monkeys such as the Japanese macaque and patas monkey. In this study we demonstrated for the first time that a repeat structure was not present in the corresponding regions in the New World monkeys examined, and only one unit sequence was found in them. These results suggested that the duplication of a unit in the VNTR region occurred in the Cercopithecidae species following the divergence of the Old World and New World monkeys, and various long repeated alleles were generated in humans and apes, except orangutans.
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PMID:Interspecies and intraspecies variations in the serotonin transporter gene intron 3 VNTR in nonhuman primates. 1820 17

Humans' closest living relatives are bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), yet these great ape species differ considerably from each other in terms of social behavior. Bonobos are more tolerant of conspecifics in competitive contexts and often use sexual behavior to mediate social interactions. Chimpanzees more frequently employ aggression during conflicts and actively patrol territories between communities. Regulation of emotional responses is facilitated by the amygdala, which also modulates social decision-making, memory and attention. Amygdala responsiveness is further regulated by the neurotransmitter serotonin. We hypothesized that the amygdala of bonobos and chimpanzees would differ in its neuroanatomical organization and serotonergic innervation. We measured volumes of regions and the length density of serotonin transporter-containing axons in the whole amygdala and its lateral, basal, accessory basal and central nuclei. Results showed that accessory basal nucleus volume was larger in chimpanzees than in bonobos. Of particular note, the amygdala of bonobos had more than twice the density of serotonergic axons than chimpanzees, with the most pronounced differences in the basal and central nuclei. These findings suggest that variation in serotonergic innervation of the amygdala may contribute to mediating the remarkable differences in social behavior exhibited by bonobos and chimpanzees.
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PMID:Differential serotonergic innervation of the amygdala in bonobos and chimpanzees. 2647 72