Birth and adaptive evolution of a hominoid gene that supports high neurotransmitter flux.

Burki F, Kaessmann H

Nat Genet 36 (10) 1061-1063 [2004-10-00; online 2004-09-19]

The enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is important for recycling the chief excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, during neurotransmission. Human GDH exists in housekeeping and brain-specific isotypes encoded by the genes GLUD1 and GLUD2, respectively. Here we show that GLUD2 originated by retroposition from GLUD1 in the hominoid ancestor less than 23 million years ago. The amino acid changes responsible for the unique brain-specific properties of the enzyme derived from GLUD2 occurred during a period of positive selection after the duplication event.

Fabien Burki

SciLifeLab Fellow

PubMed 15378063

DOI 10.1038/ng1431

Crossref 10.1038/ng1431

pii: ng1431


Publications 9.5.0