Editing FOXP2 (section)

{{short description|Transcription factor gene of the forkhead box family}}
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'''Forkhead box protein P2''' ('''FOXP2''') is a [[protein]] that, in humans, is encoded by the ''FOXP2'' [[gene]]. FOXP2 is a member of the [[forkhead box]] family of [[transcription factors]], proteins that [[Regulation of gene expression|regulate gene expression]] by [[DNA-binding protein|binding to DNA]]. It is expressed in the brain, heart, lungs and digestive system.<ref name="Fisher_1998">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fisher SE, Vargha-Khadem F, Watkins KE, Monaco AP, Pembrey ME | title = Localisation of a gene implicated in a severe speech and language disorder | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 18 | issue = 2 | pages = 168–70 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 9462748 | doi = 10.1038/ng0298-168 | hdl-access = free | s2cid = 3190318 | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0012-CBD9-5 }}</ref><ref name="Lai_2000">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lai CS, Fisher SE, Hurst JA, Levy ER, Hodgson S, Fox M, Jeremiah S, Povey S, Jamison DC, Green ED, Vargha-Khadem F, Monaco AP | title = The SPCH1 region on human 7q31: genomic characterization of the critical interval and localization of translocations associated with speech and language disorder | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 67 | issue = 2 | pages = 357–68 | date = August 2000 | pmid = 10880297 | pmc = 1287211 | doi = 10.1086/303011 }}</ref>

''FOXP2'' is found in many [[vertebrates]], where it plays an important role in mimicry in birds (such as [[birdsong]]) and [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]] in bats. ''FOXP2'' is also required for the proper development of speech and language in humans.<ref name="Lai_2001">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lai CS, Fisher SE, Hurst JA, Vargha-Khadem F, Monaco AP | title = A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder | journal = Nature | volume = 413 | issue = 6855 | pages = 519–23 | date = October 2001 | pmid = 11586359 | doi = 10.1038/35097076 | bibcode = 2001Natur.413..519L | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0012-CB9C-F | s2cid = 4421562 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> In humans, mutations in ''FOXP2'' cause the severe speech and language disorder [[developmental verbal dyspraxia]].<ref name="Lai_2001" /><ref name="MacDermot_2005">{{cite journal | vauthors = MacDermot KD, Bonora E, Sykes N, Coupe AM, Lai CS, Vernes SC, Vargha-Khadem F, McKenzie F, Smith RL, Monaco AP, Fisher SE | title = Identification of FOXP2 truncation as a novel cause of developmental speech and language deficits | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 76 | issue = 6 | pages = 1074–80 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15877281 | pmc = 1196445 | doi = 10.1086/430841 }}</ref> Studies of the gene in mice and songbirds indicate that it is necessary for vocal imitation and the related motor learning.<ref name="Groszer 2008">{{cite journal | vauthors = Groszer M, Keays DA, Deacon RM, de Bono JP, Prasad-Mulcare S, Gaub S, Baum MG, French CA, Nicod J, Coventry JA, Enard W, Fray M, Brown SD, Nolan PM, Pääbo S, Channon KM, Costa RM, Eilers J, Ehret G, Rawlins JN, Fisher SE | title = Impaired synaptic plasticity and motor learning in mice with a point mutation implicated in human speech deficits | journal = Current Biology | volume = 18 | issue = 5 | pages = 354–62 | date = March 2008 | pmid = 18328704 | pmc = 2917768 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2008.01.060 | bibcode = 2008CBio...18..354G }}</ref><ref name="Haesler_2007" /><ref name="Fisher_2009">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fisher SE, Scharff C | title = FOXP2 as a molecular window into speech and language | journal = Trends in Genetics | volume = 25 | issue = 4 | pages = 166–77 | date = April 2009 | pmid = 19304338 | doi = 10.1016/j.tig.2009.03.002 | hdl-access = free | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0012-CA31-7 }}</ref> Outside the brain, ''FOXP2'' has also been implicated in development of other tissues such as the lung and digestive system.<ref name="Shu_2007" />

Initially identified in 1998 as the genetic cause of a [[speech disorder]] in a British family designated the [[KE family]], ''FOXP2'' was the first gene discovered to be associated with speech and language<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nudel R, Newbury DF | title = FOXP2 | journal = Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science | volume = 4 | issue = 5 | pages = 547–560 | date = September 2013 | pmid = 24765219 | pmc = 3992897 | doi = 10.1002/wcs.1247 }}</ref> and was subsequently dubbed "the language gene".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://human-brain.org/language-gene.html|title=Language gene found| vauthors = Harpaz Y |website=human-brain.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025194746/http://human-brain.org/language-gene.html|archive-date=25 October 2014|access-date=31 October 2014}}</ref> However, other genes are necessary for human language development, and a 2018 analysis confirmed that there was no evidence of recent positive [[evolutionary selection]] of ''FOXP2'' in humans.<ref name="Atkinson_2018" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/language-gene-dethroned-64608|title=Language Gene Dethroned|website=The Scientist Magazine®|language=en|access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref>