Faculty Profiles - YOSHIMURA, Takashi

Thyroid hormone and seasonal regulation of reproduction Invited Reviewed

Yoshimura T

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology Vol. 34 ( 3 ) page： 157 - 166 2013.8

Seasonal time measurement during reproduction. Reviewed

Keisuke Ikegami, Takashi Yoshimura

The Journal of reproduction and development Vol. 59 ( 4 ) page： 327 - 333 2013.8

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Most species living outside the tropical zone undergo physiological adaptations to seasonal environmental changes and changing day length (photoperiod); this phenomenon is called photoperiodism. It is well known that the circadian clock is involved in the regulation of photoperiodism such as seasonal reproduction, but the mechanism underlying circadian clock regulation of photoperiodism remains unclear. Recent molecular analysis have revealed that, in mammals and birds, the pars tuberalis (PT) of the pituitary gland acts as the relay point from light receptors, which receive information about the photoperiod, to the endocrine responses. Long-day (LD)-induced thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the PT acts as a master regulator of seasonal reproduction in the ependymal cells (ECs) within the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) and activates thyroid hormone (TH) by inducing the expression of type 2 deiodinase in both LD and short-day (SD) breeding animals. Furthermore, the circadian clock has been found to be localized in the PT and ECs as well as in the circadian pacemaker(s). This review purposes to summarize the current knowledge concerning the involvement of the neuroendocrine system and circadian clock in seasonal reproduction.

DOI： 10.1262/jrd.2013-035

The saccus vasculosus of fish is a sensor of seasonal changes in day length

Nakane Yusuke, Ikegami Keisuke, Iigo Masayuki, Ono Hiroko, Takeda Korenori, Takahashi Daisuke, Uesaka Maiko, Kimijima Meita, Hashimoto Ramu, Arai Natsumi, Suga Takuya, Kosuge Katsuya, Abe Tomotaka, Maeda Ryosuke, Senga Takumi, Amiya Noriko, Azuma Teruo, Amano Masafumi, Abe Hideki, Yamamoto Naoyuki, Yoshimura Takashi

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Vol. 4 2013.7

Next-generation sequencing reveals genomic features in the Japanese quail Reviewed

Ryouka Kawahara-Miki, Satoshi Sano, Mitsuo Nunome, Tsuyoshi Shimmura, Takehito Kuwayama, Shinji Takahashi, Takaharu Kawashima, Yoichi Matsuda, Takashi Yoshimura, Tomohiro Kono

GENOMICS Vol. 101 ( 6 ) page： 345 - 353 2013.6

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

The Japanese quail has several advantages as a laboratory animal for biological and biomedical investigations. In this study, the draft genome of the Japanese quail was sequenced and assembled using next-generation sequencing technology. To improve the quality of the assembly, the sequence reads from the Japanese quail were aligned against the reference genome of the chicken. The final draft assembly consisted of 1.75 Gbp with an N50 contig length of 11,409 bp. On the basis of the draft genome sequence obtained, we developed 100 microsatellite markers and used these markers to evaluate the genetic variability and diversity of 11 lines of Japanese quail. Furthermore, we identified Japanese quail orthologs of spermatogenesis markers and analyzed their expression using in situ hybridization. The Japanese quail genome sequence obtained in the present study could enhance the value of this species as a model animal. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ygeno.2013.03.006

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2072-8851

Circadian clock determines the timing of rooster crowing Reviewed

Tsuyoshi Shimmura, Takashi Yoshimura

CURRENT BIOLOGY Vol. 23 ( 6 ) page： R231 - R233 2013.3

Circadian clock gene Per2 is not necessary for the photoperiodic response in mice. Reviewed International journal

Keisuke Ikegami, Masayuki Iigo, Takashi Yoshimura

PloS one Vol. 8 ( 3 ) page： e58482 2013.3

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

In mammals, light information received by the eyes is transmitted to the pineal gland via the circadian pacemaker, i.e., the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Melatonin secreted by the pineal gland at night decodes night length and regulates seasonal physiology and behavior. Melatonin regulates the expression of the β-subunit of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH; Tshb) in the pars tuberalis (PT) of the pituitary gland. Long day-induced PT TSH acts on ependymal cells in the mediobasal hypothalamus to induce the expression of type 2 deiodinase (Dio2) and reduce type 3 deiodinase (Dio3) that are thyroid hormone-activating and hormone-inactivating enzymes, respectively. The long day-activated thyroid hormone T3 regulates seasonal gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion. It is well established that the circadian clock is involved in the regulation of photoperiodism. However, the involvement of the circadian clock gene in photoperiodism regulation remains unclear. Although mice are generally considered non-seasonal animals, it was recently demonstrated that mice are a good model for the study of photoperiodism. In the present study, therefore, we examined the effect of changing day length in Per2 deletion mutant mice that show shorter wheel-running rhythms under constant darkness followed by arhythmicity. Although the amplitude of clock gene (Per1, Cry1) expression was greatly attenuated in the SCN, the expression profile of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase, a rate-limiting melatonin synthesis enzyme, was unaffected in the pineal gland, and robust photoperiodic responses of the Tshb, Dio2, and Dio3 genes were observed. These results suggested that the Per2 clock gene is not necessary for the photoperiodic response in mice.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0058482

Understanding mechanism of seasonal reproduction and deep brain photoreceptor

新規光受容器「オプシン5」欠損マウスの行動解析

太田航, 中根右介, 池上啓介, 吉村崇

日本畜産学会大会講演要旨集 Vol. 116回 page： 97 - 97 2013.3

脊椎動物の光周性の制御機構 Invited

頼永恵理子, 吉村崇

生物科学 Vol. 64 page： 205 - 211 2013

脊椎動物が季節を感知する仕組みの解明 Invited Reviewed

前田遼介, 吉村崇

トレーサー Vol. 54 page： 3 - 8 2013

哺乳類における新規光受容器Opsin 5の発現解析

太田航, 中根右介, 池上啓介, 吉村崇

日本畜産学会大会講演要旨集 Vol. 115回 page： 216 - 216 2012.3

Circadian clocks and the measurement of daylength in seasonal reproduction

Ikegami Keisuke, Yoshimura Takashi

MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY Vol. 349 ( 1 ) page： 76 - 81 2012.2

Nakane Y., Yoshimura T.

Seikagaku Vol. 83 ( 2 ) page： 114 - 117 2011.12

Photoperiodism in vertebrates.

Wataru Ota, Takashi Yoshimura

Journal of the Society of Biomechanisms Vol. 35 ( 4 ) page： 251 - 257 2011.11

Progesterone Is a Sperm-Releasing Factor from the Sperm-Storage Tubules in Birds

Ito Tomomi, Yoshizaki Norio, Tokumoto Toshinobu, Ono Hiroko, Yoshimura Takashi, Tsukada Akira, Kansaku Norio, Sasanami Tomohiro

ENDOCRINOLOGY Vol. 152 ( 10 ) page： 3952 - 3962 2011.10

ウズラの季節性精巣退縮機構の解明

渥美優介, 池上啓介, 小野ひろ子, 村山至, 中根右介, 太田航, 新井菜津美, 手賀明倫, 飯郷雅之, 吉田松生, 吉村崇

The Journal of Reproduction and Development Vol. 57 ( Suppl. ) page： j103 - j103 2011.8

Opsin 5 as a deep brain photoreceptor regulating photoperiodism

Yusuke Nakane, Keisuke Ikegami, Hiroko Ono, Naoyuki Yamamoto, Shosei Yoshida, Yasuhiro Kamei, Sho-ichi Higashi, Kanjun Hirunagi, Shizufumi Ebihara, Yoshihiro Kubo, Takashi Yoshimura

NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH Vol. 71 page： E171 - E171 2011

Oocytic expression of zona pellucida protein ZP4 in Japanese quail (<i>Coturnix japonica</i>)

Serizawa Mami, Kinoshita Mihoko, Rodler Daniela, Tsukada Akira, Ono Hiroko, Yoshimura Takashi, Kansaku Norio, Sasanami Tomohiro

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL Vol. 82 ( 2 ) page： 227 - 235 2011

Publisher：Animal Science Journal

The avian perivitelline layer, an extracellular matrix homologous to the zona pellucida (ZP) of mammalian oocytes, is composed mainly by zona pellucida gene family glycoproteins. Our previous studies in Japanese quail have demonstrated that the matrix's components, ZP3 and ZPD, are synthesized in ovarian granulosa cells. Another component, ZP1, is synthesized in the liver. Recently, we demonstrated that another minor constituent, ZP2 is produced in the oocytes of the immature follicles. In the present study, we report the isolation of complementary DNA encoding quail ZP4 and its expression and origin in the female birds. By ribonuclease protection assay and in situ hybridization, we demonstrated that ZP4 transcripts were transcribed in the oocytes of small white follicles. The expression level of ZP4 decreased dramatically during follicular development, and the highest expression was observed in the small white follicles. Western blot analysis using the specific antibody against ZP4 indicated that the immunoreactive 58.2kDa protein was present in the lysates of the small white follicles. These results demonstrate for the first time that the avian ZP4 is expressed in the oocyte, and that the expression pattern of the gene is similar to that of ZP2. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

DOI： 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00830.x