(ORDO NEWS) — A group of biologists from Naples published a report in the scientific journal BMC Biology, which talked about similar transposons in humans and octopuses.
According to scientists, the discovered gene has an impact on cognitive abilities, which may explain the high “mental” activity of cephalopods.
The study sequenced the genomes of the common octopus and the Californian octopus. It turned out that the transposons of cephalopods, which are also called “jumping genes”, are similar to human ones.
The head of the study, Giuseppe Petrosino, noted that during the study, similar transposons of the LINE type were found.
These are such long stretches of DNA with dispersed repeats. Scientists believe that the LINE type is responsible for mental activity and learning.
Petrosino believes that the discovery can be considered evidence of convergent evolution between the two species. In other words, in humans and octopuses, “jumping genes” of the LINE type evolved in the same way, regardless of conditions and needs.
In addition, the discovery of cognitive genes in the brain of cephalopods proves the fact that LINE transposons play a much larger role than just the transfer of the genetic code.
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