Nutritional regulation of oocyte growth in telotrophic ovary of red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

• Project/Area Number: 16H06913
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Insect science
• Research Institution: Kyoto Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: TAKAKI KEIKO 京都工芸繊維大学, 応用生物学, 助教 (30401938)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 栄養 / 端栄養型卵巣 / 昆虫 / 細胞死

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to discover putative systems that ensure balance of reproduction and survival of adults, effects of starvation on ovary of beetle, Tribolium castaneum, were examined as a model of telotrophic ovary. In this type of ovary, oocyte is encapsulated alone in monolayer follicle cells and connected to separated nurse cells by nutritive cord. Nurse cells compose syncytium, thus, it is also question how oocyte is controlled by nurse cells remotely.
We got some results which indicate starvation inducible follicle defects following to arrest of the growth accompanied with suppression of vitellogenins genes in fat body. They were mimicked by depletion of insulin signaling in cell death genes dependent manner, but not TOR. Other results we obtained indicate that mitochondria are delivered from nurse cells to oocyte through nutritive cord. Whereas healthy ovariole had robust cords filled with mitochondria, crushed cord running to defected follicle was observed after starvation.

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] 国立科学アカデミー昆虫学部門(チェコ)
• [Presentation] FGF-7内包化タンパク質微結晶を含有する絹糸素材の開発とその細胞増殖制御への応用 (2018)
  • Author(s): 田莉奈、小谷英治、高木圭子、瀬筒秀樹、森肇
  • Organizer: 日本蚕糸学会学会
• [Presentation] Starvation effect on telotrophic meroistic ovariole in Tribolium castaneum (2017)
  • Author(s): 高木圭子
  • Organizer: The 3rd International Insect Hormone Workshop 2017
  • Place of Presentation: 栃木県
  • Year and Date: 2017-07-09
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Verson's glandの蛹コミットメントにおけるBroad-complexの制御機構 (2017)
  • Author(s): ：金児雄，高木圭子，比留間潔
  • Organizer: 日本蚕糸学会
• [Presentation] 体節特異的に起こるVerson's glandの細胞死の分子機構 (2017)
  • Author(s): 金児雄、高木圭子、比留間潔
  • Organizer: 日本応用動物昆虫学会
• [Presentation] Effects of starvation on the telotrophic ovariole of Tribolium castaneum (2017)
  • Author(s): Takaki, K., Kaneko, Y., Paroulek, M., Hiruma, K., Kotani, E., Mori, H., Jindra, M.
  • Organizer: 3rd International Insect Hormone (21th Ecdysone) Workshop
  • Int'l Joint Research