• Question: Do animals have a small amount of the fox p2 gene???

    Asked by anon-175412 to Alex, Ella, hayleypincott, Thomas on 21 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Hayley Pincott

      Hayley Pincott answered on 21 Jun 2018:

      That’s a really interesting question. I’ve had to have a quick look about this because I have no idea. The FOXP2 gene is resposible for speech development, and it’s present in all animals however the gene we have as humans is slightly different, this difference could be the reason humans talk and other animals similar like chimps don’t.

    • Photo: Thomas Perriment

      Thomas Perriment answered on 22 Jun 2018:

      Ooh interesting. You ask the best questions Alice! So many many vertebrates (animals with a backbone/spinal column) have the FOXP2 gene, although they differ between species and sometimes even within species!
      Something interesting is that when animals have mutation in the FOXP2 gene, or it’s missing entirely when they were meant to have it, they can be born with many other issues such as inadequate lung development! It seems that the gene isn’t only responsible for speech development (speaking and understanding!), but also partly for the physical development of the lungs and brain.
      Perhaps the reason why the Hominidae family (includes orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans!) have a better understanding of sign language and speech is because of the similarities in the FOXP2 gene! In humans the gene is only a little different (just two amino acids different).

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