Involvement of taste receptor in oogenesis and early development

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19354
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Molecular and Genome biology and related fields
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: Yamashita Atsuko 岡山大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科, 教授 (10321738)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 味覚受容体

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Taste receptors are expressed in various tissues besides mouth, such as ovary, and considered to have physiological functions beyond taste perception. However, their details are mostly unknown. In this study, we addressed a phenomenon that eggs spawned by a female medaka fish with mutations in taste receptors showed abnormal development, in order to elucidate the physiological relevance of taste receptors to oogenesis and early development. The results suggest that the abnormality was derived from maternal factors, where the mutant taste receptors are considered to have folding dysfunction at the taste-substance binding region, resulting in a substantial decrease of receptor functions.

Free Research Field

構造生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、味覚受容体分子の構造とそれに基づく分子機能から、生体での機能発現にいたるまでの幅広い観点で、生殖・発生における味覚受容体の機能的役割を明らかにしようとする、独自の萌芽的な取り組みを行ったものである。得られた結果は、味覚受容体が、卵形成などの生殖機能において何らかの関与をしている可能性を示唆するものである。その詳細の解明にはさらなる解析が必要であるが、今後味覚受容体が関与する味覚感知以外の生理機能を理解していく上での基礎的な知見となりうる。