Studies in Knockout Mice Have Demonstrated an Important Role of the FOXP2

question 18

Multiple Choice

Studies in knockout mice have demonstrated an important role of the FOXP2 transcription factor in the development of vocalizations. Recent sequence comparisons of the FOXP2 gene in Neanderthals and modern humans show that while the DNA sequence may be different, the protein sequence it codes for is identical. Which of the following conclusions might logically be inferred from this information?

• A) There was a problem with the experiment because different DNA sequences cannot result in the same protein sequence.
• B) The differences in DNA sequence support the hypothesis that Neanderthals were primitive beings that could only grunt.
• C) Human and Neanderthal vocalizations may have been more similar than previously thought.
• D) The experiments in mice demonstrating the function of the FOXP2 gene are not relevant to humans and Neanderthals because they are not primates.

---

Definitions:

Demographic

Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it, used for marketing, policy making, and social studies.