2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Adaptation of owl monkeys to dark environments accompanied by genome composition alterations: reproducibility in a wide range of primates
| Project/Area Number |
19H03311
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 45050:Physical anthropology-related
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
Koga Akihiko 京都大学, ヒト行動進化研究センター, 教授 (80192574)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
田辺 秀之 総合研究大学院大学, 統合進化科学研究センター, 准教授 (50261178)
飯田 敦夫 名古屋大学, 生命農学研究科, 助教 (90437278)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | 適応 / ゲノム / サテライトDNA / ヘテロクロマチン / 染色体 / 内在性レトロウイルス |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Owl monkeys carry, in their photoreceptor cells, a microlens structure that leads to an elevated night vision. This is an adaptation associated with their shift to a nocturnal lifestyle. The purpose of the present study was to reveal the past evolutionary process of the acquisition of the microlens structure, and to infer its generality in a wide range of organisms. The following results were obtained: [1] the acquisition was a recent and rapid process (after the divergence between owl monkey and marmoset), [2] the acquisition was accompanied by formation of novel satellite DNA (tandemly repeated sequences on a large scale) and its rapid expansion in the genome, and [3] another example of a rapid expansion of a new satellite DNA was found in a marsupial. These results suggested that adaptation associated with satellite DNA formation or expansion could occur in a wide range of organisms.
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| Free Research Field |
進化遺伝学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
適応進化にはゲノムの変化が伴う。真核生物のゲノムにはほぼ例外なく、従来の概念での遺伝子のほかに、サテライトDNAが大量に存在する。その機能が続々と明らかにされているものの、適応進化に直接関わったといえる例は、ほとんどない。この状況にあって、ヨザルでの視細胞内微小レンズの形成は、サテライトDNAがもたらす適応進化の明瞭な例である。進化の観点からは、これがヨザルに限られるのかとの疑問が、順当に生じる。この疑問に応えるための実験や解析を行い、広い範囲の生物種で同様の適応進化が起こり得るとの推測に至った。この先の課題としての具体的な実例の同定に、効率的な解析手法の選定の指針を、提供することになる。
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