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Laboratory of Molecular Recognition

NAGATA Shinji Prof. Ph.D.

Other Affiliations: Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry (Intra-university Cooperative Laboratory)
Theme

Entomological endocrinology, Entomology, Chemical ecology

Keyword

Feeding behavior, Endocrine factors, Sterol

Message

The number of insect species has explosively increased for more than 450 million years, which counts as the most flourished species on the current earth. One of the most critical events for such extensive diversification of insect species is “adaptive radiation.” This event has occurred by the adaptation of plant-feeding (herbivorous) characteristics. The emergence of herbivorous insects brings interesting feeding habitats in insect species such as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. To understand this feeding habitat in insects, we are trying to solve many questions, dietary recognition, selection, metabolisms….

Introduction

Biologically active compounds contributte to most of all physiological and biological events. Discoveries and functional studies of bioactive compounds experienced during my graduate student life encompass my current research interests.
Our current research projects aim to elucidate innate behavioral control by bioactive compounds in insects. Mainly, we focus on the fundamental feeding selective behavior by insects. For satisfying the elucidation, we investigate the cricket behavior, which has omnivorous characteristics. This cricket provides many exciting issues, body color, individual recognition, cannibalism, in addition to feeding selection controlled by endocrine factors, nervous systems, metabolisms.. We hope that chemical biology, molecular biology, and borderless fields will address such exciting issues.

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    Many crickets in our cricket-rearing room

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    International meeting with scientists in the entomological endocrinology.

Biography

2021 Professor, Department of Integrated Biosciences, the University of Tokyo
2012 Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Biosciences, the University of Tokyo
2002 Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, the University of Tokyo
2000 Research Associate, Department of Integrated Biosciences, the University of Tokyo
1999 Post-doctral fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
1998 Ph.D. Graduate School of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo
1993 B.Sc Department of Agricultural Biological Chemistry, the University of Tokyo
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