| Project/Area Number |
12202005
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Review Section |
Biological Sciences
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Genetics |
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Principal Investigator |
GOJOBORI Takashi National Institute of Genetics, Center for Information Biology and DDBJ, Professor, 生命情報・DDBJ研究センター, 教授 (50162136)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OKADA Norihiro Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Sciences Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Professor, 大学院生命理工学研究科, 教授 (60132982)
斎藤 成也 国立遺伝学研究所, 集団遺伝研究系, 教授 (30192587)
藤山 秋佐夫 国立遺伝学研究所, 総合遺伝研究系, 教授 (60142311)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2000 – 2004
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2004)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥153,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥153,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥24,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥24,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥20,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥20,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥24,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥24,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥85,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥85,000,000)
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| Keywords | gene expression / microarray / comparative genomics / EST (expressed sequence tag) / nervous system / diversity / development and differentiation / evolution / 発現プロファイル / 脳・神経 / 神経系 / バイオインフォマティクス / ゲノム / 系統進化 / DNA / 遺伝子発現 / プラナリア / シクリッド / 霊長類 / 多様化 |
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| Research Abstract |
(1) Evolution and Developmental mechanism in Nervous system
To understand when and how the structural brain emerged, we analyzed the central nervous system of a lower invertebrate, planarian. We conducted a large-scale screening of the head part-specific genes in the planarian by constructing a cDNA microarray. As a result, 205 genes with head part-specific spikes were found, which included some essential genes in the vertebrate nervous system. The expression patterns of the top 30 genes showing the strongest spikes implied that the planarian brain has undergone functional regionalization.
As a result of homology searches, we found that 116 clones had significant similarity to known genes related to the nervous system. Interestingly, we found that 〜30% of planarian nervous system-related genes had homologous sequences in Arabidopsis and yeast, which do not possess a nervous system. This implies that the origin of nervous system-related genes greatly predated the emergence of the nervous system, and that these genes might have been recruited toward the nervous system.
(2) Evolution and Diversity in the system of development and differentiation
To investigate the diversification of cichlid jaw morphology at the genetic level, we used a DNA chip to compare gene expression levels between closely related cichlid fishes. This analysis indicated that the expression of some genes differed in the larvae of two cichlid species. One such clone encodes a new astacin family metalloproteinase. Because some astacin family proteins contribute to morphogenesis in animals, CiMP1 is expected to participate in species-specific head morphogenesis in cichlids.
In Cichlids, here, we provide an example in which alternative splicing may play a role in mate choice, leading to cichlid speciation through diversification of gene function by production of multiple mRNAs from a single gene.
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