| description |
Despite the substantial efforts made to compile the molecular maps of the human brain, they do not fully inform us of the features unique to humans. Yet, identification of these features might help us to understand both the evolution and nature of the human cognitive traits. Here, we approached this question by analyzing gene expression and H3K27ac chromatin modification data collected in eight brain regions of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, gibbon and macaques. Integrated analysis of these data revealed existence of 1,851 human-specific transcriptome differences affecting one or multiple brain regions, in contrast to 240 chimpanzee-specific ones. More than a half of these differences represented elevated expression in human hippocampus, while the rest affected microglial functions in neocortex. Analysis of predicted regulatory interactions driving these differences revealed role of transcription factors in species-specific transcriptome changes, while epigenetic modifications were linked to spatial expression differences conserved across species.Overall design: Transcriptome across eight brain regions (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, premotor cortex, primary visual cortex, striatum, hippocampus, cerebellum) of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and gibbon were measured using RNA-seq. |