| Project/Area Number |
17K07420
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Developmental biology
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| Research Institution | Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University |
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Principal Investigator |
KHALTURIN KONSTANTIN 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, マリンゲノミックスユニット, スタッフサイエンティスト (80725458)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,810,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,110,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
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| Keywords | life cycle / Aurelia / polyp / jellyfish / immortality / metamorphosis / Cnidaria / cnidaria |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The majority of animals have a limited life span and die due to senescence. However, there are examples of biologically immortal organisms such as fresh water polyp Hydra and a colonial hydroid Turritopsis. In Aurelia jellyfish, similar to that in Hydra, polyps proliferate by budding and are immortal, while during metamorphosis the polyps transform into jellyfishes which survive for just several months. Hence, the same "individual" in Aurelia can be immortal or mortal depending on the stage of the life cycle. This unique feature gives us an opportunity to analyze the genetic mechanisms which allow (or disallow) unlimited life span in Aurelia and potentially in other animals.
In order to understand the molecular basis of immortality-to-mortality switch we analyzed transcriptional changes, genome-wide dynamics of histone modifications and patterns of DNA methylation during polyp-to-jellyfish transition.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
In this project we identified genes which might be responsible for the maintenance of unlimited proliferation of Aurelia cells during a polyp stage and the areas of the genome silenced during the switch to mortal jellyfish stage.
Data are available to public at http://compagen.unit.oist.jp/aurelia/
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