Roman Zug
@romanzug.bsky.social
Postdoc in theoretical biology @mainzuniversity.bsky.social. Evolution & development, gene regulation, health & disease, symbiosis. And a fondness for the humanities
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Sz-2qz4AAAAJ&hl=en
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Sz-2qz4AAAAJ&hl=en
Reposted by Roman Zug
Moreover, we argued that TR genes important for human evolution also show #haploinsufficiency and are involved in neurodevelopmental disorders #NDDs, incl. intellectual disability (ID), #autism, and #schizophrenia.
Recently, more evidence has been emerging that supports this hypothesis:
(2/6)
Recently, more evidence has been emerging that supports this hypothesis:
(2/6)
October 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Moreover, we argued that TR genes important for human evolution also show #haploinsufficiency and are involved in neurodevelopmental disorders #NDDs, incl. intellectual disability (ID), #autism, and #schizophrenia.
Recently, more evidence has been emerging that supports this hypothesis:
(2/6)
Recently, more evidence has been emerging that supports this hypothesis:
(2/6)
(4) @olivieroleonardi.bsky.social, @ellylewerissa.bsky.social et al. (incl. @naelnadifkasri-lab.bsky.social) replaced a human-specific derived enhancer allele with the ancestral one (in IPSCs) and found ancestralized lines express higher levels of CHD2, implicated in autism.
(6/6)
bit.ly/3WaXpWy
(6/6)
bit.ly/3WaXpWy
CHD2 Dosage Ties Autolysosomal Pathway to Cortical Maturation in Disease and Evolution
The relatively slow pace of cortical development in humans has long been a topic of investigation. Studies seeking to understand the underlying mechanisms have mostly focused on neurogenetic compariso...
bit.ly
October 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
(4) @olivieroleonardi.bsky.social, @ellylewerissa.bsky.social et al. (incl. @naelnadifkasri-lab.bsky.social) replaced a human-specific derived enhancer allele with the ancestral one (in IPSCs) and found ancestralized lines express higher levels of CHD2, implicated in autism.
(6/6)
bit.ly/3WaXpWy
(6/6)
bit.ly/3WaXpWy
(3) Alexander Starr & Hunter Fraser (@stanford.edu) found a "dramatic down-regulation of autism-associated genes, which was likely driven by polygenic positive selection specific to the human lineage".
(5/6)
academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
(5/6)
academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
A General Principle of Neuronal Evolution Reveals a Human-Accelerated Neuron Type Potentially Underlying the High Prevalence of Autism in Humans
Abstract. The remarkable ability of a single genome sequence to encode a diverse collection of distinct cell types, including the thousands of cell types f
academic.oup.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
(3) Alexander Starr & Hunter Fraser (@stanford.edu) found a "dramatic down-regulation of autism-associated genes, which was likely driven by polygenic positive selection specific to the human lineage".
(5/6)
academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
(5/6)
academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
(2) @xiekuicui.bsky.social, Han Yang (both Yin Shen lab) and colleagues (incl. @brainevodevo.bsky.social) showed that a human-specific variant in the HAR202 enhancer downregulates the transcription factor NPAS3, implicated in schizophrenia.
(4/6)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(4/6)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Comparative characterization of human accelerated regions in neurons - Nature
The cis-regulatory functions of human accelerated regions of genomic loci and their potential contribution to human brain evolution are revealed.
www.nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
(2) @xiekuicui.bsky.social, Han Yang (both Yin Shen lab) and colleagues (incl. @brainevodevo.bsky.social) showed that a human-specific variant in the HAR202 enhancer downregulates the transcription factor NPAS3, implicated in schizophrenia.
(4/6)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(4/6)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(1) Katarzyna Ciuba (@aleksandrapekowska.bsky.social lab) and colleagues found that ID-related genes such as CTCF and KMT2E are downregulated in the evolution of the human brain.
(3/6)
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
(3/6)
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
Molecular signature of primate astrocytes reveals pathways and regulatory changes contributing to human brain evolution
Pękowska and colleagues model primate astrocyte evolution in the dish and find that
human cells are bigger and more complex than their chimpanzee and macaque counterparts.
Human astrocytes activate lo...
www.cell.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
(1) Katarzyna Ciuba (@aleksandrapekowska.bsky.social lab) and colleagues found that ID-related genes such as CTCF and KMT2E are downregulated in the evolution of the human brain.
(3/6)
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
(3/6)
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...