1998 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Phylogenetic analysis of pigment cell differentiation
| Project/Area Number |
08044186
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for international Scientific Research
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | Joint Research |
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| Research Field |
遺伝
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| Research Institution | Tohoku University |
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Principal Investigator |
YAMAMAOTO Hiroaki Tohoku Univ., Graduate School of Science, Associate Prof., 大学院・理学研究科, 助教授 (40174809)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
佐藤 滋 自治医科大学, 生物学科, 助手 (70306108)
GODING Colin マリーキューリー研究所, 教授
COLIN Goding Marie Curie Research Institute, Professor
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1998
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| Keywords | Pigment cell / TRP gene / Tyrosinase gene / Ascidians / Vertebrates / Urochordata / Phylogenitic analysis / microphthalmia gene |
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| Research Abstract |
The main purpose of this project was to analyze phylogenetically the molecular mechanisms of pigment cell differentiation. The first step was to clone ascidian homologues for vertebrate genes involved in differentiation of pigment cells. Then, we analyzed the gene structures from phylogenetic view points. Their expression patterns were also analyzed.
We obtained the following results.
a. Putative ascidian tyrosinase gene encoding a key enzyme essential for melanin biosynthesis was cloned and their expression patterns were analyzed.
b. Putative ascidian tyrosinase-related protein gene was also cloned. This gene showed the very early onset of expression in the course of ascidian development similar to those of vertebrate homologues.
c. We identified several cis-acting elements in their regulatory regions.
d. Putative ascidian MITF(microphthalmia-associated transcription factor) gene was cloned.Vertebrate MITF is known to activate expression of tyrosinase and its related genes. We had found that MITF-M is an essential isoform to allow differentiation of melanocyte from neural crest cells in vertebrates. Ascidian MITF homologue can not express the M-isoform.
e. Ascidian MITF homologue can transactivate both ascidian tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein genes but also vertebrate tyrosinase and TRP genes. On the other hand, only one of vertebrate MITF isoforms can transactivate the ascidian TRP gene.
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