Identification of sex-inducing substances that can trigger the switching from asexual to sexual reproduction in planarians.

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K07121
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Morphology/Structure
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Kazuya Kobayashi 弘前大学, 農学生命科学部, 准教授 (50360110)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): SAKAMOTO KIMITOSHI 弘前大学, 農学生命科学部, 准教授 (50361465)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: プラナリア / 生殖様式 / 生殖細胞 / 有性化因子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We tried to identify “sex-inducing substances” that can switch from an asexual to a sexual state in the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis. The administration of the sex-inducing substances induces the differentiation of ovaries, yolk glands, testes and a copulatory apparatus in turn from the pluripotent stem cells called neoblasts. In the previous study, we identified tryptophan as a sex-inducing substance (an ovary-inducing substance), which is contained in a large amount in the yolk glands. This finding led us to focus on low-molecular weight compounds contained in the yolk glands as candidates for the sex-inducing substances. In the present study, we identified 16 ovary-inducing substances including tryptophan and two crucial sex-inducing substances among the candidate compounds narrowed down by metabolomic analysis.

Free Research Field

生殖生物学、生殖生物学