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Positive selection of ASPM in primate evolution may have resulted from evolutionary selection for greater fertility

Brain and genitals have a totally different anatomy and completey different functions. This is why the findings of a team of Max Planck researchers in Dresden and Leipzig on the gene Aspm are even more stunning: It regulates the development of the brain as well as a proper functioning of testes and ovaries. The team generated mutant mouse lines that mimic ASPM gene mutations found in human microcephaly patients. These mice not only had smaller brains; the truncated Aspm also caused a massive loss of germ cells, resulting in a severe reduction in testis and ovary size accompanied by reduced fertility.

These findings broaden the spectrum of phenotypic effects of ASPM mutations. The study also raises the possibility that the positive selection of ASPM in primate evolution may have resulted from evolutionary selection for greater fertility, rather than brain size as is traditionally believed. (PNAS Early Edition, 6. September 2010)

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