Integrative sensory evolution in primates revealed by population genetic analysis of olfactory, taste, and color vision receptor genes

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H02421
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Physical anthropology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: KAWAMURA Shoji 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 教授 (40282727)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 今井 啓雄 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 准教授 (60314176) ; 手島 康介 九州大学, 理学研究院, 助教 (20447593) ; 太田 博樹 北里大学, 医学部, 准教授 (40401228)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TOUHARA Kazushige 東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科, 教授 (00280925) ; SUZUKI Yutaka 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 教授 (40323646) ; HASEBE Mitsuyasu 基礎生物学研究所, 生物進化研究部門, 教授 (40237996)
• Research Collaborator: MATSUMOTO Akiko
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 霊長類 / 感覚受容遺伝子 / 野生集団 / 遺伝的多型 / 適応進化 / 国際情報交換

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Primates are generally regarded as vision-oriented animals. However, this notion is questioned by recent studies and requires further investigation. New World monkeys (NWMs) are particularly suitable for understanding the interplay of different senses in evolutionary and ecological contexts because of their diversity in color vision and diets. Here, by employing targeted capture and massively parallel (Next Generation) sequencing methods, we studied the entire gene repertoire of olfactory receptors (ORs) as well as bitter (TAS2Rs) and umami/sweet (TAS1Rs) taste receptors from NWMs with diverse color vision types and feeding habits. The number of intact and defective OR genes appeared to differ only slightly among taxa, whereas genetic composition differed considerably among species by repeated gain and loss of OR genes throughout phylogeny. These results depict a feature of active turnaround of gene contents in the evolution of primate chemical sensors.

Free Research Field

進化遺伝学