| Project/Area Number |
16K14789
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Evolutionary biology
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| Research Institution | Toho University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
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| Keywords | 脊椎動物 / オウム類 / 嘴 / 形態 / 発生 / 比較 / 進化 / 小顎症 / オウム目 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Using RNA-seq, expression profiles of the genes expressing in the upper and lower beak primordia were compared among 3 species of birds: the cockatiel (a species of parrots), Japanese quail, and duck, and the genes differentially expressed between the upper and lower beaks of cockatiel embryos were identified. Next, using in situ hybridization, expression pattern of the top-ranked differentially expressed gene (DEG) was described in the upper and lower beak tissues of the embryos of 3 species of birds and the pattern was compared among the species. The expression domain of this top-ranked DEG, which is encoding a structural protein, was significantly expanded in the mesenchyme of the lower beak of cockatiel embryos. The result suggests that the gene may inhibit the growth of the lower beak of parrots through repressing mesenchymal differentiation of their lower beak.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
脊椎動物は餌を上下の顎で保定し、噛み砕くため、ほとんどの種で上下の顎の長さは等しくなっている。興味深いことに、ヒトで上顎に比べ下顎が短くなる「小顎症」と呼ばれる先天性疾患が知られる。「小顎症」は呼吸障害や摂食障害を引き起こすため、生存に不利である。本研究では一般に生存に不利であると考えられる“前後にずれた”嘴をもつオウム目の鳥類に着目し、彼らの嘴の発生機序を探究した。本研究により、オウム目の嘴形成メカニズムの一端が明らかになったことで、ヒト小顎症の発生機序の理解や治療法の開発にも洞察を与えることができたと考えられる。
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