TY - JOUR TI - Human-specific ARHGAP11B induces hallmarks of neocortical expansion in developing ferret neocortex AU - Kalebic, Nereo AU - Gilardi, Carlotta AU - Albert, Mareike AU - Namba, Takashi AU - Long, Katherine R AU - Kostic, Milos AU - Langen, Barbara AU - Huttner, Wieland B A2 - Arlotta, Paola A2 - Bronner, Marianne E A2 - Borrell, Victor VL - 7 PY - 2018 DA - 2018/11/28 SP - e41241 C1 - eLife 2018;7:e41241 DO - 10.7554/eLife.41241 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.41241 AB - The evolutionary increase in size and complexity of the primate neocortex is thought to underlie the higher cognitive abilities of humans. ARHGAP11B is a human-specific gene that, based on its expression pattern in fetal human neocortex and progenitor effects in embryonic mouse neocortex, has been proposed to have a key function in the evolutionary expansion of the neocortex. Here, we study the effects of ARHGAP11B expression in the developing neocortex of the gyrencephalic ferret. In contrast to its effects in mouse, ARHGAP11B markedly increases proliferative basal radial glia, a progenitor cell type thought to be instrumental for neocortical expansion, and results in extension of the neurogenic period and an increase in upper-layer neurons. Consequently, the postnatal ferret neocortex exhibits increased neuron density in the upper cortical layers and expands in both the radial and tangential dimensions. Thus, human-specific ARHGAP11B can elicit hallmarks of neocortical expansion in the developing ferret neocortex. KW - ferret KW - ARHGAP11B KW - neocortex development KW - neocortex evolution JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -