Lunar Age-Dependent Oscillations in Expression of the Genes for Kisspeptin, GnIH, and Their Receptors in the Grass Puffer during the Spawning Season
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):97-104. doi: 10.2108/zs230061.ABSTRACTGrass puffer is a semilunar-synchronized spawner: spawning occurs on beaches only for several days of spring tide around new moon (lunar age 0) and full moon (lunar age 15) every 2 weeks from spring to early summer. To investigate the role of kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) in the semilunar-synchronized spawning, lunar age-dependent expression of the genes encoding kisspeptin (kiss2), kisspeptin receptor (kissr2), GnIH (gnih), GnIH receptor (gnihr), gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) (gnrh1), and three gonadotropin (GTH) subunits (...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Md Shahjahan Mohammad Lutfar Rahman Yuki Ohno Md Mahiuddin Zahangir Hironori Ando Source Type: research
Neuroendocrinology of Reproduction and Social Behaviors in Reptiles: Advances Made in the Last Decade
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):87-96. doi: 10.2108/zs230060.ABSTRACTAmong amniotes, reptiles are ectothermic and are clearly distinguished from mammals and birds. Reptiles show great diversity not only in species numbers, but also in ecological and physiological features. Although their physiological diversity is an interesting research topic, less effort has been made compared to that for mammals and birds, in part due to lack of established experimental models and techniques. However, progress, especially in the field of neuroendocrinology, has been steadily made. With this process, basic data on selected reptilian species h...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Genki Yamagishi Shinichi Miyagawa Source Type: research
Diversity of Androgens; Comparison of Their Significance and Characteristics in Vertebrate Species
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):77-86. doi: 10.2108/zs230064.ABSTRACTAndrogen(s) is one of the sex steroids that are involved in many physiological phenomena of vertebrate species. Although androgens were originally identified as male sex hormones, it is well known now that they are also essential in females. As in the case of other steroid hormones, androgen is produced from cholesterol through serial enzymatic reactions. Although testis is a major tissue to produce androgens in all species, androgens are also produced in ovary and adrenal (interrenal tissue). Testosterone is the most common and famous androgen. It represents ...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Takashi Yazawa Yoshitaka Imamichi Takahiro Sato Takanori Ida Akihiro Umezawa Takeshi Kitano Source Type: research
Gene Duplication of Androgen Receptor As An Evolutionary Driving Force Underlying the Diversity of Sexual Characteristics in Teleost Fishes
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):68-76. doi: 10.2108/zs230098.ABSTRACTSexual dimorphism allows species to meet their fitness optima based on the physiological availability of each sex. Although intralocus sexual conflict appears to be a genetic constraint for the evolution of sex-specific traits, sex-linked genes and the regulation of sex steroid hormones contribute to resolving this conflict by allowing sex-specific developments. Androgens and their receptor, androgen receptor (Ar), regulate male-biased phenotypes. In teleost fish, ar ohnologs have emerged as a result of teleost-specific whole genome duplication (TSGD). Recent ...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Tsukasa Ryu Keigo Okamoto Satoshi Ansai Miki Nakao Anu Kumar Taisen Iguchi Yukiko Ogino Source Type: research
Ovarian Follicle Development in Ascidians
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):60-67. doi: 10.2108/zs230054.ABSTRACTOvarian follicle development is an essential process for continuation of sexually reproductive animals, and is controlled by a wide variety of regulatory factors such as neuropeptides and peptide hormones in the endocrine, neuroendocrine, and nervous systems. Moreover, while some molecular mechanisms underlying follicle development are conserved, others vary among species. Consequently, follicle development processes are closely related to the evolution and diversity of species. Ciona intestinalis type A (Ciona rubusta) is a cosmopolitan species of ascidians, ...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Honoo Satake Tsuyoshi Kawada Tomohiro Osugi Tsubasa Sakai Akira Shiraishi Tatsuya Yamamoto Shin Matsubara Source Type: research
Expression of mRNAs Encoding Hypothalamic Small Proteins, Neurosecretory Protein GL and Neurosecretory Protein GM, in the Japanese Quail, < em > Coturnix japonica < /em >
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):50-59. doi: 10.2108/zs230070.ABSTRACTNeurosecretory protein GL (NPGL) and neurosecretory protein GM (NPGM) are novel neuropeptides that have been discovered in the hypothalamic infundibulum of chickens. NPGL and NPGM play important roles in lipid metabolism in juvenile chickens. The physiological functions of NPGL and NPGM in sexually mature birds remain unknown. The Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) seems to be an appropriate model for analyzing NPGL and NPGM during sexual maturity. However, studies on NPGL or NPGM have yet to be reported in the Japanese quail. In the present study, we identifi...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Masaki Kato Eiko Iwakoshi-Ukena Yuki Narimatsu Megumi Furumitsu Kazuyoshi Ukena Source Type: research
Update on Feeding Regulation by Ghrelin in Birds: Focused on Brain Network
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):39-49. doi: 10.2108/zs230071.ABSTRACTGhrelin is known to be a feeding stimulatory hormone in mammals, but in birds, in contrast to mammals, the feeding behavior is regulated in inhibitory manners. This is because the neuropeptides associated with the regulation in the brain are different from those in mammals, i.e., it has been shown that, in chickens, a corticotropin-releasing hormone family peptide, urocortin, which is a feeding-inhibitory peptide, is mainly involved in the inhibitory mechanism. However, feeding is also regulated by various neurotransmitters in the brain, and recently, their in...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Hiroyuki Kaiya Source Type: research
Analyses of mRNA Expression Levels of Pituitary Hormones, Their Hypothalamic Regulating Factors, and Receptors Involved in Metamorphosis with Special Reference to the Summer and Winter Seasons
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):32-38. doi: 10.2108/zs230080.ABSTRACTBullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) larvae inhabiting the main island of Japan overwinter as preclimax animals, whereas the larvae that reached climax in summer complete metamorphosis. We analyzed the mRNA expression levels of the adenohypophyseal hormones, hypothalamic hormones, and their receptors that are involved in controlling metamorphosis in tadpoles at various developmental stages available in summer and winter in order to understand the hormonal mechanism regulating metamorphosis progression. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and thyrotropin β-subunit (TS...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Yuki Matsumoto Natsuno Kowata Sakae Kikuyama Reiko Okada Source Type: research
Cellular Energy Sensor Sirt1 Augments Mapk Signaling to Promote Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced Catch-up Growth in Zebrafish Embryo
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):21-31. doi: 10.2108/zs230059.ABSTRACTAnimal growth is blunted in adverse environments where catabolic metabolism dominates; however, when the adversity disappears, stunted animals rapidly catch up to age-equivalent body size. This phenomenon is called catch-up growth, which we observe in various animals. Since growth retardation and catch-up growth are sequential processes, catabolism or stress response molecules may remain active, especially immediately after growth resumes. Sirtuins (Sirt1-7) deacetylate target proteins in a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent manner, and these enzymes ...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Oki Hayasaka Mukaze Shibukawa Hiroyasu Kamei Source Type: research
Identification and Physiological Assays of Crustacean Hyperglycemic Hormones in the Japanese Spiny Lobster, < em > Panulirus japonicus < /em >
In this study, we identified two CHHs from the sinus glands of P. japonicus using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography in order to elucidate their physiological function for the first time.PMID:38587513 | DOI:10.2108/zs230041 (Source: Zoological Science)
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Kenji Toyota Yuki Kamio Tsuyoshi Ohira Source Type: research
Endocrine Regulation of Aging in the Fruit Fly < em > Drosophila melanogaster < /em >
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):4-13. doi: 10.2108/zs230056.ABSTRACTThe past few decades have witnessed increasing research clarifying the role of endocrine signaling in the regulation of aging in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Studies using the model organism fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have largely advanced our understanding of evolutionarily conserved mechanisms in the endocrinology of aging and anti-aging. Mutations in single genes involved in endocrine signaling modify lifespan, as do alterations of endocrine signaling in a tissue- or cell-specific manner, highlighting a central role of endocrine signaling in co...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Qingyin Qian Ryusuke Niwa Source Type: research
Recent Advances in Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Systems
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Feb;41(1):1-3. doi: 10.2108/zsj.41.1.ABSTRACTThe endocrine and neuroendocrine systems exert powerful and broad control over the regulation of homeostasis in animals. Secreted hormones play significant roles in lifetime-related events such as germ cell development, sexual maturation, development, metamorphosis, aging, feeding, and energy metabolism. Additionally, hormones, particularly sex steroid hormones, are involved in reproduction, including sexual behavior and dimorphism. Changes in body color protect against external enemies, and circadian rhythms direct physiology and behaviors in synchrony with lig...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Kazuyoshi Ukena Reiko Okada Source Type: research
Creation of Knock-In Alleles of Insulin Receptor Tagged by Fluorescent Proteins mCherry or EYFP in Fruit Fly < em > Drosophila melanogaster < /em >
In this study, we employed CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis in the fruit fly Drosophila to create knock-in alleles of InR tagged with fluorescent proteins (InR::mCherry or InR::EYFP). By inserting the coding sequence of the fluorescent proteins mCherry or EYFP near the end of the coding sequence of the endogenous InR gene, we could trace the natural InR protein through their fluorescence. As an example, we investigated epithelial cells of the male accessory gland (AG), an internal reproductive organ, and identified two distinct patterns of InR::mCherry localization. In young AG, InR::mCherry accumulated on the basal plasma memb...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Ayano Moriya Kei Otsuka Riku Naoi Mayu Terahata Koji Takeda Shu Kondo Takashi Adachi-Yamada Source Type: research
Phylogenetics and Population Genetics of the Asian House Shrew, < em > Suncus murinus-S. montanus < /em > Species Complex, Inferred From Whole-Genome and Mitochondrial DNA Sequences, with Special Reference to the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan
In this study, we conducted phylogenetic and population genetic analyses based on both nuclear and mitochondrial genome sequences of house shrews. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) sequences revealed that shrews from the Ryukyu Archipelago showed strong genetic affinity to Vietnamese and southern Chinese shrews. Demographic analyses of cytb sequences indicated a rapid population expansion event affecting the haplotype group in Vietnam, southern China, and the Ryukyu Archipelago 3300-7900 years ago. Furthermore, gene flow between Ryukyu (Yonaguni Island) and Taiwan and between Ryukyu and Vietn...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Satoshi D Ohdachi Kazumichi Fujiwara Chandra Shekhar Nguyn Tr ưng Sơn Hitoshi Suzuki Naoki Osada Source Type: research
A New Species of the Blind Cave Loach Genus < em > Protocobitis < /em > (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae), < em > Protocobitis longicostatus < /em > sp. nov., from Guangxi, China
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Apr;41(2):210-215. doi: 10.2108/zs230104.ABSTRACTProtocobitis species are typical cave-dwelling fish, exhibiting distinctive morphological adaptations such as colorless body, lack of eyes, and reduced scales and ribs in response to their extreme cave habitats. Distinct from the recorded species, P. anteroventris, P. polylepis, and P. typhlops, a new species, Protocobitis longicostatus sp. nov., is described from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Protocobitis longicostatus sp. nov. can easily be distinguished from all known congeners by the following characteristics: whole body covered by scales exce...
Source: Zoological Science - April 8, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Jia-Jun Zhou Zhi-Xian Qin Li-Na Du Hong-Ying Wu Source Type: research
