JAMBIO and Its Coastal Organism Joint Surveys: Network of Marine Stations Explores Japanese Coastal Biota.

Marine stations have continued to contribute significantly to understanding the physiology, taxonomy, development, ecology, and evolution of animals. There are more than 50 marine stations of national universities in Japan, and historically their establishments were closely related to the initial stage of zoology in the country. More than 10 years ago, Japanese Association for Marine Biology (JAMBIO) was established to facilitate the collaboration among marine stations in the activities of research, education and administration.

Hydrophilic Shell Matrix Proteins of and the Identification of a Core Set of Conchiferan Domains.

Despite being a member of the shelled mollusks (Conchiferans), most members of extant cephalopods have lost their external biomineralized shells, except for the basally diverging Nautilids. Here, we report the result of our study to identify major Shell Matrix Proteins and their domains in the Nautilid in order to gain a general insight into the evolution of Conchiferan Shell Matrix Proteins. In order to do so, we performed a multiomics study on the shell of , by conducting transcriptomics of its mantle tissue and proteomics of its shell matrix.

Functional shell matrix proteins tentatively identified by asymmetric snail shell morphology.

Molluscan shell matrix proteins (SMPs) are essential in biomineralization. Here, we identify potentially important SMPs by exploiting the asymmetric shell growth in snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Asymmetric shells require bilaterally asymmetric expression of SMP genes.

Identification of TGFβ-induced proteins in non-endocrine mouse pituitary cell line TtT/GF by SILAC-assisted quantitative mass spectrometry.

TtT/GF is a mouse cell line derived from a thyrotropic pituitary tumor and has been used as a model of folliculostellate cells. Our previous microarray data indicate that TtT/GF possesses some properties of endothelial cells, pericytes and stem/progenitor cells, along with folliculostellate cells, suggesting its plasticity. We also found that transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) alters cell motility, increases pericyte marker transcripts and attenuates endothelial cell and stem/progenitor cell markers in TtT/GF cells.

Insights into the Evolution of Shells and Love Darts of Land Snails Revealed from Their Matrix Proteins.

Over the past decade, many skeletal matrix proteins that are possibly related to calcification have been reported in various calcifying animals. Molluscs are among the most diverse calcifying animals and some gastropods have adapted to terrestrial ecological niches. Although many shell matrix proteins (SMPs) have already been reported in molluscs, most reports have focused on marine molluscs, and the SMPs of terrestrial snails remain unclear.

TGFβ signaling reinforces pericyte properties of the non-endocrine mouse pituitary cell line TtT/GF.

The non-endocrine TtT/GF mouse pituitary cell line was derived from radiothyroidectomy-induced pituitary adenoma. In addition to morphological characteristics, because the cells are S100β-positive, they have been accepted as a model of folliculostellate cells. However, our recent microarray analysis indicated that, in contrast to folliculostellate cells, TtT/GF cells might not be terminally differentiated, as they share some properties with stem/progenitor cells, vascular endothelial cells and pericytes.

Proteome analysis of shell matrix proteins in the brachiopod Laqueus rubellus.

Background: The calcitic brachipod shells contain proteins that play pivotal roles in shell formation and are important in understanding the evolution of biomineralization. Here, we performed a large-scale exploration of shell matrix proteins in the brachiopod Laqueus rubellus.

Results: A total of 40 proteins from the shell were identified.

An in-silico genomic survey to annotate genes coding for early development-relevant signaling molecules in the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata.

The pearl oyster Pinctada fucata has great potential as a model system for lophotrochozoan developmental biology research. Pinctada fucata is an important commercial resource, and a significant body of primary research on this species has emphasized its basic aquaculture biology such as larval biology and growth, aquaculture, pearl formation and quality improvement, shell formation, and biomineralization. Recently, a draft genome sequence of this species was published, and many experimental resources are currently being developed, such as bioinformatics tools, embryo and larva manipulation methods, gene knockdown technique, etc.

The diversity of shell matrix proteins: genome-wide investigation of the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata.

In molluscs, shell matrix proteins are associated with biomineralization, a biologically controlled process that involves nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate crystals. Identification and characterization of shell matrix proteins are important for better understanding of the adaptive radiation of a large variety of molluscs. We searched the draft genome sequence of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata and annotated 30 different kinds of shell matrix proteins.

A comparative study of the shell matrix protein aspein in pterioid bivalves.

Aspein is one of the unusually acidic shell matrix proteins originally identified from the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Aspein is thought to play important roles in the shell formation, especially in calcite precipitation in the prismatic layer. In this study, we identified Aspein homologs from three closely related pterioid species: Pinctada maxima, Isognomon perna, and Pteria penguin.