In the study published in Behavior Genetics, the researchers examined the sequences of more than 650 genes associated with autism and discovered characteristics that distinguish them from other brain-specific genes and genes of other diseases.
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“We are now a step closer to understanding the genes associated with autism and understanding the biological process involved in the disease,” says Dr. Idan Menashe, who along with his colleagues, Erez Tsur and Prof. Michael Friger, is a member of the BGU Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
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One particularly distinct characteristic of autism genes the researchers found is their exceptional genomic length, which is longer than other brain-expressed genes of closely related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Additionally, when the researchers studied families that have a child diagnosed with ASD, they found a unique genomic signature shaped by negative selection….
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“Our findings suggest that ASD genes have evolved under complex evolutionary forces, which have left a unique signature that can be used to identify new ASD candidate genes,” the researchers add.
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