| Budget Amount *help |
¥25,350,000 (Direct Cost: ¥19,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥5,850,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥5,330,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,230,000)
Fiscal Year 2010: ¥12,610,000 (Direct Cost: ¥9,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,910,000)
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| Research Abstract |
In lower vertebrates, pineal and related organs detect the ratio of UV to visible lights, suggesting that wavelengths of environmental light are discriminated by these organs independently of eyes. Recently, we found that parapinopsin is a UV sensitive photopigment that underlies the UV reception for wavelength discrimination in the lamprey pineal. Here, we carried out the parapinopsin-based investigation of the pineal wavelength discrimination in varied lower vertebrates and revealed the diversity and generality of the wavelength discrimination mechanism. Furthermore, by using transgenic technique, we obtained a clue to the physiological roles of the pineal wavelength discrimination. We also found that a homologue of another non-visual photopigment Opn3 has an unique characteristic for functioning as a light sensor in extraocular tissues.
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