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Evolgenome: David Gokhman, "What Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA Methylation Maps Can Teach Us About Human Evolution"

Event Details:

Wednesday, November 28, 2018
12:00pm - 1:00pm PST

Location

CCSR 4205

Admission is free and open to the Stanford community.

Abstract:
It is broadly accepted that changes in gene regulation are a key driver of phenotypic differences between closely related species. However, what specific regulatory changes occurred during our recent evolution remains largely unknown. By harnessing the natural degradation processes of methylated and unmethylated cytosines in ancient DNA, we developed a method to reconstruct full DNA methylation maps from ancient individuals. We reconstructed DNA methylation maps from the Neanderthal and the Denisovan, and compared them to dozens of modern humans and chimpanzees. We found ~800 differentially methylated regions that emerged along our lineage after the split from archaic humans. We show that genes affecting vocalization and facial features went through particularly extensive regulatory changes. Specifically, we identified silencing patterns in a network of genes (SOX9, ACAN, COL2A1 and NFIX), and show that knockout of NFIX in mice results in vocal tract alterations that mimic the modern human configuration, which was shown to be optimal for speech. Our results provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that shaped the modern human face and voice, and suggest that they arose after the split from Neanderthals and Denisovans.

 

Bio:
David Gokhman is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Petrov and Fraser labs (2018-now). During his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, David studied the evolution of gene regulation along the lineages of modern and archaic humans. He developed a method to reconstruct DNA methylation maps from ancient genomes, providing a first glimpse into the epigenetics of extinct species. In the Petrov and Fraser labs, David is interested in studying the evolutionary dynamics of gene regulation in humans and other great apes, and elucidating the forces that propel regulatory divergence. 

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