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Kuroiwa-Chikami-Yang Lab
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The lab uncovers how males and females are determined by studying sex chromosomes.
AboutAbout the lab
How is sex determined, and how do sex chromosomes evolve?
The Kuroiwa-Chikami-Yang Lab studies how males and females are determined in animals.
Using spiny rats (Tokudaia), a group endemic to Japan that lacks a Y chromosome, the lab investigates the mechanisms of sex determination and the evolution of sex chromosomes.
In birds, the lab uses chickens and Japanese quail to clarify the molecular basis of how sex is determined.
The lab also studies the evolutionary history of sex determination in insects and reads the diversity encoded in primate genomes.
Key terms
- Sex chromosomes
- Chromosomes whose combination differs between males and females. In mammals they are X and Y, and in birds they are Z and W.
- SRY
- The sex-determining gene of mammals, located on the Y chromosome. When it is active, the undifferentiated gonad develops into a testis.
- Genome editing
- A technology that cuts or rewrites the sequence of a targeted gene in order to study its function.
NewsLab news
Published the book 'Maboroshi no Nezumi, Kieta Y: Sei no Shinka no Nazo o Ou' (Iwanami Shoten; literally, 'The Phantom Rat, the Vanished Y: Pursuing the Mystery of the Evolution of Sex')
Published the book ''Y' no Higeki: Otokotachi ga Chokumen suru Y Senshokutai Shometsu no Shinjitsu' (Asahi Shimbun Publications; literally, 'The Tragedy of 'Y': The Truth About the Disappearance of the Y Chromosome That Men Face')
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify how sex is determined and how sex chromosomes evolve. Using a wide range of animals, including mammals, birds, and insects, it investigates the mechanisms of sex through molecular biology and cell biology experiments.
*Illustrative imageRats without a Y chromosome
Spiny rats living in the Nansei Islands are mammals, yet they have neither a Y chromosome nor the sex-determining gene SRY. While taking part in capture surveys conducted with government permission, the lab investigates how sex is determined in these animals and why the Y chromosome was lost.
*Illustrative imageHow sex is determined in birds
In birds, sex is determined by the Z and W sex chromosomes, but the genes responsible have not yet been identified. Using transgenic technology in early chicken embryos and genome editing in Japanese quail, the lab searches for the genes involved.
*Illustrative imageEvolution of sex determination in insects
Sex-determining mechanisms differ greatly among animal groups. Focusing on early-emerging insects such as silverfish and cockroaches, the lab traces what sex-determining genes were doing before they acquired their current function.
*Illustrative imagePrimate genomes and diversity
Focusing on the diversification of phenotypes such as diet and body color in primates, the lab combines population genomics with comparative analysis to investigate how selective pressures from ecology are linked to genetic changes.
MembersFaculty
The Kuroiwa-Chikami-Yang Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2025
- ProfessorAsato Kuroiwa
- Assistant ProfessorYasuhiko Chikami
- Assistant ProfessorXiaochan Yan
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Chicken embryo” Mjeltsch / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Rats without a Y chromosome: “Subtropical Forest of Yanbaru National Park Okinawa 2018” kohei sasabuchi / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- How sex is determined in birds: “Coturnix japonica, Yehliu, Taiwan 1” 孫鋒 林 from Taipei, Taiwan / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Evolution of sex determination in insects: “Ctenolepisma lineata pae” Paethon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Primate genomes and diversity: “Celebes crested macaque ( )” Chi King / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Koshikawa Lab): “Dguttifera” MA Hanson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kotani Lab): “Danio rerio port” Soulkeeper / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Naramoto Lab): “Arabidopsis thaliana kz07” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morphology and Function III Lab): “Arabidopsis thal background” Reo On / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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