Exploring the functions of leptin in fish

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18745
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Aquatic life science
• Research Institution: Fisheries Research and Education Agency
• Principal Investigator: Murashita Koji 国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構, 増養殖研究所, 主任研究員 (60597649)
• Research Collaborator: KINOSHITA Masato 京都大学, 農学研究科, 助教 ; Rønnestad Ivar University of Bergen, Professor
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: レプチン / メダカ / ゲノム編集

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Leptin is a well-known peptide hormone that regulates appetite and energy metabolism in mammals whereas the function of leptin in fish is still obscure. In this study, leptin-related genes including leptin a, leptin b and leptin receptor knock-out (KO) medaka were generated using genome editing techniques of TALEN and CRISPR/Cas. The growth, appetite and respiration (indicator for the metabolic activity) of the leptin-ligand (a and b) KO fish were slightly changed compared to the wild type while the observed effect was not obvious. Although we have not observed clear phenotypes of the generated mutants in this study, the leptin-related gene KO fish will be a powerful tool to reveal the function of fish leptin in the further.

Free Research Field

魚類栄養生理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ほ乳類では「レプチン」の作用を抑えると，食欲が旺盛となり良く育つことが知られている。このレプチンによる生育成魚の機構を魚にも応用することで，より効率的な養殖が可能になると考えられる。魚類におけるレプチンの役割にはまだ不明な点が多いが，本研究によってレプチンの作用を持たないモデル魚の作成に成功した。今後，この魚を詳しく調べることで，魚類におけるレプチンの作用の解明が期待できる。