Comparative Anatomical, Physiological Studies of reproductive neuroendocrinology ~Leading to an evolutionary model |
Lab of Biological Signaling, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate
School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Shinji Kanda
→main page of Lab of Biological Signaling
School of Science is not a place for medical or agricultual application.
As we do not know what will be useful 100 years after, we are trying to
study what may not be useful in the present time. Our absolute mission
is to expand the study field itself.
Our study is not limitted in mammals, but to suspect the prototype, and
to find generality in vertebrates, we have been comparing various neuronal
systems in various species in comparison of other studies. However, comparison
is not the end. Comparison finds some convergence or extraordinary system
that only specific animal groups have, which leads us mysteries of long
evolutionary history of vertebrates.
Our materials are mainly in neuroendocrine peptidergic neurons because
they are small in number, and each groups show significant distribution
and projection (see photos above). These features even provide us good
models for understanding subfunctionalized gene evolution because some
ligand families have the same receptor in coomon while differential localization
and projection characterizes their diffirent functions (subfunctionalization).
We are mainly using medaka, but other vertebrates are also used depending
on what we want to know. Such as zebrafish, goldfish, blind cave characin,
piranha, Xenopus tropicalis/laevis, lung fish, polypterus, etc...
If you are interested in some topic or techniques represented in papers,
please contact by e-mail.
Department of Biological Sciences
Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo,
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo. 113-0033
TEL.+81-3-5841-4439
FAX.+81-3-5841-4439
shinji<at>bs.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp