Roundabout homolog 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ROBO1gene.
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.
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. Study of the phonological memory component of the language acquisition system suggests that ROBO1polymorphisms are associated with functioning in this system. 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.
↑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.