Octopuses Are One Of The Brainiest Creatures In The Deep Sea, And Scientists Uncovered A Clue That Partially Explains Why
Octopuses are one of the brainiest creatures in the deep sea. They can solve puzzles, escape from their enclosures in aquariums, and even outsmart predators with their camouflage skills. They have nine brains—one central brain and then one for each arm.
Scientists have uncovered a clue that could partially explain octopuses’ intelligence. It turns out that their genes have a trait that is also found in humans.
The scientists discovered “jumping genes,” also known as transposons, in the cephalopods. These genes make up about 45 percent of the human genome.
They are short sequences of DNA that can move within different locations in the genome by “copying and pasting” or “cutting and pasting” themselves. They also play a role in genome evolution across many species.
Genetic sequencing has revealed that two species of octopus—Octopus vulgaris and Octopus bimaculoides—possess genomes with many transposons.
Most transposons are dormant in both humans and octopuses. They can shut down due to mutations or get blocked by cellular defenses from making replications.
However, there is one kind of transposon in humans that may still be active. It is called the Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINE).
Previously, evidence from other studies has shown that LINE jumping genes are strictly regulated by the brain. They are still important for learning and forming memories in the hippocampus, though.
When the scientists examined octopus jumping genes further, they found transposons from the LINE family. They were active in the vertical lobe of an octopus, which is a brain section that is vital for learning in octopuses. In humans, the vertical lobe’s function is associated with the hippocampus.
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The researchers measured the activity of an octopus transposon by tracking its RNA transcription and protein production.
They detected notable activity in areas of the brain related to behavioral plasticity, suggesting a connection between the transposon and the ability to adapt behaviors in response to changing stimuli.
Octopuses may not be related closely to animals with backbones, but they do share similar features like behavioral and neural plasticity.
Like mammals, they are capable of adaptation and problem-solving. These shared traits may stem from genetic similarities.
Overall, these findings link jumping genes to octopus intelligence and demonstrate that LINE transposons play a bigger role in cognitive processing than previously thought.
Since both humans and octopuses have jumping genes, they may be ideal candidates for future scientific research on intelligence and its development in individuals within a species.
But it’s also possible that the active LINE transposons in the two groups are an example of convergent evolution because humans and octopuses are so different from each other. This means intelligence in the two lineages evolved separately instead of originating in a shared ancestor.
The study was published in the journal BMC Biology.
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