Down Syndrome is a genetic alteration that occurs in humans for different reasons. It is a common congenital condition, which is why many people wonder if animals can have Down Syndrome Have you ever wondered about it too?
In this article on our site we want to demystify many of the network's claims. We will explain what Down Syndrome is and if there are animals with this condition. Don't miss out, keep reading!
What is Down syndrome?
To adequately clarify this issue, it is first important to know what Down syndrome is and what mechanisms cause it to appear in the Humans.
The genetic information of the human being is organized in chromosomes Chromosomes are structures made up of DNA and proteins with a very high level of organization, which contain our genetic sequence and therefore greatly determine the nature of our organism.
In general, the human being has 23 pairs of chromosomes, however, those with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21Instead of having one pair, they have three. Although the exact causes of this chromosomal excess are not known, it is suspected that it is related to the age of the mother at the time of giving birth. In genetics it is known as "trisomy 21".
This genetic alteration is responsible for the characteristic physical traits that we observe in people with Down syndrome and that are accompanied by a certain degree of cognitive disability and alterations in growth and muscle tissue.
Are there animals with Down syndrome?
We must know that Down syndrome is an exclusively human disorder, since the chromosomal organization of human beings is different from that of presented by animals.
However, it is obvious that animals also have certain genetic information with a specific sequence, in fact, gorillas have a DNA that is equal to human DNA in a percentage of 97-98%.
Since animals have ordered genetic sequences also on chromosomes (chromosome pairs depend on each species), they can suffer from trisomies of some chromosome and these translate into cognitive and physiological difficulties, as well as in anatomical alterations that give it a characteristic state.
This happens for example in the laboratory mice that present a trisomy in chromosome 16, but finally, to conclude this question we we must remain with the following statement: animals can suffer genetic alterations and trisomies in some chromosome, but NO Down syndrome, an exclusively human alteration caused by a trisomy on chromosome 21.
