Molecular basis of androgen dependent sex characteristics development and evolution

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K07138
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Morphology/Structure
• Research Institution: Kyushu University (2016-2017); Okazaki Research Facilities, National Institutes of Natural Sciences (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Ogino Yukiko 九州大学, 農学研究院, 准教授 (00404343)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): YAMADA GEN 和歌山県立医科大学, 先端医学研究所, 教授 (80174712) ; WATANABE EIJI 基礎生物学研究所, 神経生理学研究室, 准教授 (30250252) ; INOHAYA KEIJI 東京工業大学, 生命理工学研究所, 助教 (70302958)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: アンドロゲン / 二次性徴 / ゲノム進化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Steroid hormone receptor genes are thought to have arisen from gene duplication (WGD). However, the molecular events which produce new protein functions have not been fully understood. Teleosts present a good model to investigate the evolutionary history of protein function after WGD, because the teleost-specific WGD (TSGD) resulted in a variety of duplicated genes that exist in modern fishes. We focused on the androgen receptor (AR) gene, since ARα and ARβ were generated in the TSGD. We identified the substitutions that led to changes in protein function between ARα and ARβ. One substitution located within ligand binding domain is sufficient for generating higher transactivation of ARα, which modifies the hydrogen bonds between ligand and AR. Analyses using AR mutant medaka revealed the different contribution of two AR subtypes for masculine phenotypes. Our findings would provide an historical explanation for the retention of the duplicated AR copies in euteleost genome.

Free Research Field

分子生物学、内分泌学、進化発生学