The secret of sharp teeth in genes

2005/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Genetika
• Anatomia/Fisiologia

The secret of sharp incisors of rodents lies in the cultivation of enamel. In most mammals, including man, the enamel covers the entire tooth, but in rodents the enamel only grows on the outside of the tooth, in contact with the lips. As the incisors are used, the internal part is breaking, since the protection of the enamel is missing, but not the outside, sharpening the tooth.

Irma Thesff and her colleagues at the University of Helsinki have explained this asymmetry in genes: the process is controlled by the gene encoding the protein called follistatin.

For the research they used genetically modified mice. They observed that the teeth of mice that lacked this gene grew completely covered with enamels, and that in the teeth of those programmed to produce too much follistatin there was no enamel. In addition, observing the untransformed mice, it was observed that in the unglazed area more follistatin was produced.