Induced pluripotent stem cell

Genome

Neanderthal

Gene

Embryonic stem cell

Evolutionary biology

Biology

Phenotype

Sociology

Genetics

Organoid

Computational biology

Anthropology

Science

Brain organoids with Neanderthal genes The genomes of Neanderthals and modern humans are overall very similar. To understand the impact of genetic variants that are specific to modern humans, Trujillo et al. performed a genome-wide analysis to identify 61 coding variants in protein-coding genes. Identifying the gene encoding the RNA-binding protein NOVA1 as a top candidate for functional analyses, they introduced the archaic gene variant into human pluripotent stem cells and generated brain organoids. These organoids showed alterations in gene expression and splicing as well as morphology and synaptogenesis, suggesting that this method could be used to explore other genetic changes that underlie the phenotypic traits separating our species from extinct relatives. Science , this issue p. eaax2537

Reintroduction of the archaic variant of <i>NOVA1</i> in cortical organoids alters neurodevelopment

Reintroduction of the archaic variant of NOVA1 in cortical organoids alters neurodevelopment