Scientists link octopus DNA folding to its large brain
A University of Vienna study in Nature Communications found that ancient reshuffling of cephalopod DNA created new regulatory connections between distant genome regions. Octopuses show more such rearrangements than squid and cuttlefish, which may have shaped their nervous system.
- Deleting a 1,000-letter DNA stretch caused delays in all 25 embryos
- Five embryos had smaller brains, especially the optic lobe
- Octopuses show more DNA rearrangements than squid and cuttlefish
- The study was published October 9 in Nature Communications
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