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Marine Biotechnology Lab
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A lab that uncovers, from the level of proteins, how the muscles of jellyfish and shellfish work.
AboutAbout the lab
Muscle mechanisms, at the molecular level
Assistant Professor Hiroyuki Tanaka studies proteins that function inside the cells of aquatic animals, aiming to clarify the mechanisms of biological phenomena and functions at the molecular level.
Marine organisms have evolved their body forms and ecology to live in environments very different from those on land, such as low temperatures, high water pressure, and high salinity.
Muscle, the organ of movement, also has unique features, and recently the lab has been focusing on the muscle proteins of cnidarians, represented by jellyfish.
Key terms
- Cnidarians
- Animals such as jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals. They have capsules containing venomous stinging threads (nematocysts)
- Actin and myosin
- The main proteins that make up muscle. Muscle contracts when myosin pulls on actin
- Adductor muscle
- The muscle that bivalves use to close their shells. In scallops and other species, it is the part eaten as food
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies proteins that function inside the cells of aquatic animals, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms of biological phenomena and functions at the molecular level. It studies muscle proteins of invertebrates and the mechanism by which the muscles of cnidarians such as jellyfish contract.
*Illustrative imageMuscle proteins of marine animals
Muscles have a variety of features that support the unique ecology of each animal. For example, the adductor muscle of a bivalve can stay contracted without using energy, so that the shell cannot be pried open by predators such as starfish. The lab studies proteins that function inside the cells of such aquatic animals.
*Illustrative imageHow jellyfish muscles contract
Cnidarians are thought to have been the first animals in evolutionary history to acquire nerves and muscles, about 600 million years ago, but how the actions of actin and myosin are regulated in response to nerve stimulation is still not understood. The lab purifies proteins from the muscle that makes the jellyfish bell pulsate and investigates their functions and structures.
MembersFaculty
- Assistant ProfessorHiroyuki Tanaka
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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: “Moon jellyfish at Gota Sagher” Alexander Vasenin / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Muscle proteins of marine animals: “Japan sea animal, Ezo giant scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis) ( )” harum.koh from Kobe city, Japan / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- How jellyfish muscles contract: “Aurelia aurita (aka)” André Karwath aka Aka / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Marine Bioengineering Lab (Prof. Akira Inoue)): “Aplysia kurodai” Izuzuki Diver / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Marine Microbiology Lab (Marine Bioengineering Division)): “Vibrio parahaemolyticus TCBS” Matthias M. / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Higuchi Lab (Aquaculture Biology Division)): “Strongylocentrotus intermedius 1” Totti / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takagi Lab): “Acipenser ruthenus Prague Vltava 1” Karelj / Public domain (cropped)
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