2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Exploring the biota of Ediacaran embryo fossils through analysis of meroblastic-like embryos found in extant cnidarians
| Project/Area Number |
20K21450
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
Medium-sized Section 45:Biology at organismal to population levels and anthropology, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Tokyo Keizai University |
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Principal Investigator |
Okubo Nami 東京経済大学, 全学共通教育センター, 教授 (50401576)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
小宮 剛 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 教授 (30361786)
大野 剛 学習院大学, 理学部, 教授 (40452007)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-07-30 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | coral / meroblastic / Ediacara / formation / embryo |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Sponges and cnidarians are considered to have existed during the Ediacaran period, and isoblastic and meroblastic embryo fossils have been found in those formation. However, the parental organisms of the embryo fossils were unknown, as the present-day sponges and cnidarians do not develop in the same way as the embryo fossils. It was at this time that the first cnidarian corals were discovered that had an early cleavage similar to meroblastic-like embryo fossils.We therefore undertook a comparative analysis of the distribution of bioelements (mainly metallic elements) in the embryo fossil and the present coral embryo, and attempted to identify the biota of the embryo fossil. Unfortunately, we were unable to travel abroad due to the coronal disaster and were unable to collect embryo fossils suitable for analysis from the Ediacara rocks we had on hand, however, we were able to determine the distribution of all trace metal elements in the extant corals and will continue our analysis.
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| Free Research Field |
海洋生物学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
本研究は、地球最古の胚がどんな生き物に由来するのか、研究者だけでなく、子供を始めとした一般の人々の想像を掻き立てる、大変夢のある内容です。また、化石メタロミクスという新たな研究分野を創るだけでなく、発生胚で生体内元素がどの様に利用されているのか、卵割の種類で違いがあるのかなど、様々な研究にも応用できる方法を開発するので、学問的にも大変意義があり、まさに挑戦に値すると考えます。
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