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Hayakawa Lab
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The lab uncovers the behavior and evolution of wild animals through their genomes.
AboutAbout the lab
Integrating fieldwork and genome science.
The Hayakawa Lab studies the genetic mechanisms underlying the behavior, ecology, and evolution of wild animals.
By combining field observation and surveys with genome analysis, the lab studies wild animals from a genomic perspective.
The animals it studies range widely, including chimpanzees, Japanese macaques, koalas, echidnas, brown bears, and whales.
The lab places importance on non-invasive methods, such as collecting DNA from feces without harming the animals.
Key terms
- Genome
- The complete set of genetic information an organism has, recorded in molecules of DNA
- Taste receptor
- A protein found on the tongue and elsewhere that detects tastes such as sweetness and bitterness. It plays a role in food choice
- Gut microbiota
- The community of bacteria living in the digestive tract. It aids digestion and also affects physiology and behavior
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Using both fieldwork and genome science, the lab explores the genetic mechanisms behind the behavior, ecology, and evolution of wild animals. It aims to establish a new style of studying wild animals from a genomic perspective.
*Illustrative imageTracing the evolution of taste
The lab investigates how the genes for taste receptors that sense sweetness and bitterness have evolved in response to animals' diets. In plant-eating primates and in koalas, which eat eucalyptus, the number of bitter taste receptor genes was found to have increased.
*Illustrative imageGut bacteria of wild animals
Gut bacteria living in the digestive tract are involved not only in digestion but also in physiology and neural function. Using next-generation sequencing, the lab examines how the gut microbiota relates to diet and season in animals such as Japanese macaques on Yakushima.
*Illustrative imageMammals of Southern Hemisphere forests
The lab studies the ecology and adaptive evolution of primates and marsupials living in Southern Hemisphere forests, such as common marmosets, white-eared opossums, and koalas. The research takes place both at field sites in Brazil and Australia and at animal facilities in Japan.
*Illustrative imageHibernation and adaptation to the sea
Using omics analyses such as genomics, the lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of delayed implantation in brown bears, which give birth during hibernation, and how whales have adapted to the marine environment.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Hayakawa Lab consist of faculty, researchers, doctoral and master's students, and joint research students.As of 2025
- Assistant ProfessorTakashi Hayakawa
- Ambitious Specially Appointed Assistant ProfessorHaruka Kitayama
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “013 Alpha male chimpanzee at Kibale forest National Park Photo by Giles Laurent” Giles Laurent / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Tracing the evolution of taste: “Pat-active-koala-licking-tree-020217p12lowres” Janine Duffy, Echidna Walkabout / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Gut bacteria of wild animals: “Snow Monkey in Hot Spring ( )” 白士 李 / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Mammals of Southern Hemisphere forests: “Sagui in the Brazil NE” Fredy Bezerra Carneiro / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Hibernation and adaptation to the sea: “Hokkaido Brown Bear” Ozizo / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Evolutionary Community Ecology Lab (Utsumi Lab)): “Fresh green ( )” coniferconifer from japan / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Environmental Molecular Biology Lab): “Reissetzlinge vor der Aussaat” Myrmux / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kimura-Fujimori Lab): “Black-mouse-trio-in-cage-2” Commissioned by Understanding Animal Research / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Chiba Lab): “A thaliana” Safflle / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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