ZFIN ID: ZDB-LAB-031211-1
Kawamura Lab
PI/Director: Kawamura, Shoji
Contact Person: Kawamura, Shoji
Email: kawamura@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp
URL: http://www.jinrui.ib.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/kawamura/home-E.html
Address: Department of Integrated Biosciences Graduate School of Frontier Sciences The University of Tokyo Seimeitou #502 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562 JAPAN
Country: Japan
Phone: 81-4-7136-5422
Fax: 81-4-7136-3692
Line Designation: kj


GENOMIC FEATURES ORIGINATING FROM THIS LAB
Show all 49 genomic features


STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTERESTS
I am interested in evolution of color vision and visual systems of vertebrates. Visual pigments (or opsins) are key to understand animal vision and I have studied the genomic organization and spectral properties of opsins of diverse vertebrate species including lizards (American chameleon), birds (pigeon), primates (New World monkeys and prosimians), and fish (zebrafish). Fish and primates are particularly interesting because of their characteristic opsin repertoire possibly related to various visual behaviors.

Zebrafish is quite useful as a model to study regulatory mechanism of opsin expression. Zebrafish retina contains five distinct classes of photoreceptor cells, each expressing a distinct type of opsin gene. Such cell-type-specific opsin expression is a prerequisite of color vision. We isolated all of the visual opsin genes from the zebrafish genome and described their genomic organizations and spectral characteristics (Chinen et al. 2003 Genetics 163:663-675). This has enabled us to carry out systematic GFP-reporter assays using the genomic DNA fragments surrounding the opsin genes. We would like to explore the cis elements and transcription factors regulating the opsin expression by using the transgenic zebrafish whose specific photoreceptor cells are visualized with GFP.


LAB MEMBERS


ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS OF LAB MEMBERS
Hao, Q., Zheng, M., Weng, K., Hao, Y., Zhou, Y., Lin, Y., Gao, F., Kou, Z., Kawamura, S., Yao, K., Xu, P., Chen, J., Zou, J. (2021) Crumbs proteins stabilize the cone mosaics of photoreceptors and improve vision in zebrafish. Journal of genetics and genomics = Yi chuan xue bao. 48(1):52-62
Mackin, R.D., Frey, R.A., Gutierrez, C., Farre, A.A., Kawamura, S., Mitchell, D.M., Stenkamp, D.L. (2019) Endocrine regulation of multichromatic color vision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116(34):16882-16891
Kuroki-Kami, A., Nichuguti, N., Yatabe, H., Mizuno, S., Kawamura, S., Fujiwara, H. (2019) Targeted gene knockin in zebrafish using the 28S rDNA-specific non-LTR-retrotransposon R2Ol. Mobile DNA. 10:23
Tsujimura, T., Masuda, R., Ashino, R., Kawamura, S. (2015) Spatially differentiated expression of quadruplicated green-sensitive RH2 opsin genes in zebrafish is determined by proximal regulatory regions and gene order to the locus control region. BMC Genetics. 16:130
Mitchell, D.M., Stevens, C.B., Frey, R.A., Hunter, S.S., Ashino, R., Kawamura, S., Stenkamp, D.L. (2015) Retinoic Acid Signaling Regulates Differential Expression of the Tandemly-Duplicated Long Wavelength-Sensitive Cone Opsin Genes in Zebrafish. PLoS Genetics. 11:e1005483
Suzuki, S.C., Bleckert, A., Williams, P.R., Takechi, M., Kawamura, S., and Wong, R.O. (2013) Cone photoreceptor types in zebrafish are generated by symmetric terminal divisions of dedicated precursors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110(37):15109-14
Fang, W., Bonaffini, S., Zou, J., Wang, X., Zhang, C., Tsujimura, T., Kawamura, S., and Wei, X. (2013) Characterization of transgenic zebrafish lines that express GFP in the retina, pineal gland, olfactory bulb, hatching gland, and optic tectum. Gene expression patterns : GEP. 13(5-6):150-9
Tsujimura, T., Hosoya, T., and Kawamura, S. (2010) A single enhancer regulating the differential expression of duplicated red-sensitive opsin genes in zebrafish. PLoS Genetics. 6(12):e1001245
Allison, W.T., Barthel, L.K., Skebo, K.M., Takechi, M., Kawamura, S., and Raymond, P.A. (2010) Ontogeny of cone photoreceptor mosaics in zebrafish. The Journal of comparative neurology. 518(20):4182-4195
Takechi, M., Seno, S., and Kawamura, S. (2008) Identification of cis-acting elements repressing blue opsin expression in zebrafish UV cones and pineal cells. The Journal of biological chemistry. 283(46):31625-31632
Tsujimura, T., Chinen, A., and Kawamura, S. (2007) Identification of a locus control region for quadruplicated green-sensitive opsin genes in zebrafish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104(31):12813-12818
Wei, X., Zou, J., Takechi, M., Kawamura, S., and Li, L. (2006) Nok plays an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the outer nuclear layer in the zebrafish retina. Experimental Eye Research. 83(1):31-44
Matsumoto, Y., Fukamachi, S., Mitani, H., and Kawamura, S. (2006) Functional characterization of visual opsin repertoire in Medaka (Oryzias latipes). Gene. 371(2):268-278
Kawamura, S., Takeshita, K., Tsujimura, T., Kasagi, S., and Matsumoto, Y. (2005) Evolutionarily conserved and divergent regulatory sequences in the fish rod opsin promoter. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology. 141(4):391-399
Chinen, A., Matsumoto, Y., and Kawamura, S. (2005) Reconstitution of Ancestral Green Visual Pigments of Zebrafish and Molecular Mechanism of their Spectral Differentiation. Mol. Biol. Evol.. 22(4):1001-1010
Takechi, M., and Kawamura, S. (2005) Temporal and spatial changes in the expression pattern of multiple red and green subtype opsin genes during zebrafish development. The Journal of experimental biology. 208(Pt.7):1337-1345
Chinen, A., Matsumoto, Y., and Kawamura, S. (2005) Spectral differentiation of blue opsins between phylogenetically close but ecologically distant goldfish and zebrafish. The Journal of biological chemistry. 280(10):9460-9466
Takechi, M., Hamaoka, T., and Kawamura, S. (2003) Fluorescence visualization of ultraviolet-sensitive cone photoreceptor development in living zebrafish. FEBS letters. 553(1-2):90-94
Chinen, A., Hamaoka, T., Yamada, Y., and Kawamura, S. (2003) Gene duplication and spectral diversification of cone visual pigments of zebrafish. Genetics. 163(2):663-675
Hamaoka, T., Takechi, M., Chinen, A., Nishiwaki, Y., and Kawamura, S. (2002) Visualization of rod photoreceptor development using GFP-transgenic zebrafish. Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000). 34(3):215-220