2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Study of chemical signals for the induction of reproductive organs in the asexual planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis
| Project/Area Number |
22603010
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
ケミカルバイオロジー
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| Research Institution | Hirosaki University (2012)
Keio University (2010-2011) |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KITAMURA Makoto 慶應義塾大学, 医学部, 助教 (00436990)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2012
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| Keywords | 生殖器官誘導物質 |
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| Research Abstract |
Chemicals contained in the sexual planarians induce the development of ovaries, testes and the other reproductive organs in the asexual planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis (the sexual induction). We have demonstrated that, by feeding with D-tryptophan（D-Trp）, the worms developed a pair of ovaries. In this study, we found that a gene encoding a D-Trp-degrading enzyme is transiently and strongly expressed in the developing ovaries during sexual induction. It suggests that the concentration of D-Trp around the developing ovaries may affect the sexual indcution. Thus, it is likely that D-Trp targets to the ovaries. The isolation study of sex-inducing substances suggests that sexual induction in the asexual worms might be triggered by additive or synergistic effects of chemical compounds, which can induce the ovarian development.
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