How Humans lost Their Tails: Study

Context

• Recently, Researchers found an insertion between two pieces of the TBXT gene, which prevented apes from producing a protein required to form a tail.

How Humans lost Their Tails: Key Findings of the Research

• Losing of Tail: Apes lost their tails approximately 25 million years ago due to a rare insertion of an Alu element in a critical gene during development.

• Cause of Taillessness: This insertion interrupted the TBXT gene, producing a faulty TBXT protein and resulting in taillessness.
• Insertion in Junk DNA: NYU researchers discovered the insertion in ‘junk’ DNA, which is present in all apes but lacking in monkeys.
• Tail Loss: Engineered mice  embryos carrying the faulty TBXT gene confirmed its role  in tail loss.
• Bipedalism: The mutation certainly conferred advantages, possibly connected to bipedalism, although the particular benefit remains unknown.
• Shaping Evolutionary Trajectory: Evolution took advantage of this one-in-a-million event, substantially modifying ape anatomy and dictating their evolutionary course.
• Evolutionary Adaptations: The findings provide light on the genetic factors behind ape tail loss and demonstrate the complexities of evolutionary adaptations.
• Evolutionary Relevance: Understanding the evolutionary relevance of tail loss sheds light on the genesis of distinct ape features and their subsequent dominance in the natural world.

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