’Smart’ genes put us at risk of mental illness

Humans may be endowed with the ability to perform complex forms of learning, attention and function but the evolutionary process that led to this has put us at risk of mental illness. Data from new research, published today , was analysed by Richard Emes, a bioinformatics expert from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at The University of Nottingham. The results showed that disease-causing mutations occur in the genes that evolved to make us smarter than our fellow animals. Emes, Director of The University of Nottingham's Advanced Data Analysis Centre, conducted an analysis of the evolutionary history of the Discs Large homolog (Dlg) family of genes which make some of the essential building blocks of the synapse — the connection between nerve cells in the brain. He said: "This study highlights the importance of the synapse proteome — the proteins involved in the brains signalling processes — in the understanding of cognition and the power of comparative studies to investigate human disease." - Full Article - The study involved scientists from The University of Edinburgh, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the University of Aberdeen, The University of Nottingham and the University of Cambridge. This cross-disciplinary team of experts carried out what they believe to be the first genetic dissection of the vertebrate's ability to perform complex forms of learning, attention and function. They focussed on Dlg — a family of genes that humans shared with the ancestor of all backboned animals some 550 million years ago.