Roundabout homolog 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ROBO1gene.[5][6][7]
Function
Bilateral symmetric nervous systems have special midline structures that establish a partition between the two mirror image halves. Some axons project toward and across the midline in response to long-range chemoattractants emanating from the midline. The protein encoded by ROBO1 is structurally similar to a Drosophilaintegral membrane protein which is encoded by the Drosophila roundabout gene (a member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily) and is both an axon guidance receptor and a cell adhesion receptor, known to be involved in the decision by axons to cross the central nervous system midline. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for ROBO1.[7]
Clinical significance
ROBO1 was implicated in a communication disorder based on a Finnish pedigree with severe dyslexia. Analyses revealed a translocation had occurred disrupting ROBO1.[8] Study of the phonological memory component of the language acquisition system suggests that ROBO1polymorphisms are associated with functioning in this system.[9] The gene is thought to be related to the brain's ability to represent quantities, and is correlated with better math scores of young children in one limited study.[10]
^Sundaresan V, Roberts I, Bateman A, Bankier A, Sheppard M, Hobbs C, Xiong J, Minna J, Latif F, Lerman M, Rabbitts P (Aug 1998). "The DUTT1 gene, a novel NCAM family member is expressed in developing murine neural tissues and has an unusually broad pattern of expression". Mol Cell Neurosci. 11 (1–2): 29–35. doi:10.1006/mcne.1998.0672. PMID9608531. S2CID7168171.
^Bates TC, Luciano M, Medland SE, Montgomery GW, Wright MJ, Martin NG (January 2011). "Genetic variance in a component of the language acquisition device: ROBO1 polymorphisms associated with phonological buffer deficits". Behav. Genet. 41 (1): 50–7. doi:10.1007/s10519-010-9402-9. PMID20949370. S2CID13129473.