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A mobile DNA sequence could explain tail loss in humans and apes

The lack of a tail is one thing that separates apes — including humans — from other primates. Insertion of a short DNA sequence into a gene that controls tail development could explain tail loss in the common ancestor of apes.
  1. Miriam K. Konkel

    1. Miriam K. Konkel is in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson Center for Human Genetics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA.

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  2. Emily L. Casanova

    1. Emily L. Casanova is in the Department of Psychology, Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA.

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Tails are a common feature in the animal kingdom, and all mammals have a tail at some point during embryonic development1. In humans, the tail disappears at the end of the embryonic phase — approximately eight weeks in utero2 — although internal parts remain in the form of the tailbone. The loss of the tail is considered a distinctive characteristic of apes and might have influenced our own upright walking style. In a paper in Nature, Xia et al.3 report that the insertion of a type of mobile genetic sequence that moved around the genome during evolution, known as a transposable element, could be associated with the loss of the tail.

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Nature 626, 958-959 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00309-z

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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