Control of phenotypic plasticity in armed hone beatle.

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14443
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Molecular biology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: OHTA Kunihiro 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 教授 (90211789)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: エピゲノム / 栄養 / 表現型可塑性 / 形態形成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Nutritional conditions during early development influence the plastic expression of adult phenotypes. Because heightened nutrition sensitivity often characterizes the development of exaggerated traits, there should be molecular mechanisms underlying trait-specific variability. This study reveals the molecular mechanisms underlying the expression of nutrition-sensitive mandibles in the beetle Gnatocerus cornutus. We found that epigenetic regulators, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs) and polycomb group (PcG) proteins, contribute specifically to the plastic expression of male mandibles, with little contribution to other body modules. In addition, HDAC1 and HDAC3 perturbation resulted in opposite phenotypic effects on mandible and wing modules. Our findings provide molecular evidence of a link between distinct epigenetic modifications and module-specific phenotypic plasticity of exaggerated traits.

Free Research Field

分子遺伝学