AS-HOPE report

Number:AS-22-G019

Collaboration and participation in the joint meeting of the German and Japanese societies of developmental biologists to elucidate the evolutional process of regulatory mechanism of the stem cell.

Report:Yui Ohta

Date:2011/03/22 - 2011/03/28

I would like to clarify the molecular mechanisms of the stem cell and their regulatory mechanisms, studying with a freshwater sponge, Ephydatia fluviatilis. The sponge is thought to be the evolutionarily oldest multicellular animal. Therefore, in order to learn the latest research on the stem cell systems in a wide range of animals including the evolutionarily second-oldest animals such as Hydra and Nematostella, in Germany and Japan, I visited the Max Planck Institute and participated in the Joint meeting of the German and Japanese societies of developmental biologists.
There were many presentations on molecular and regulatory mechanisms of stem cell systems in various animals, so I was able to learn the stem cell systems in those animals and learned biological approaches to promote my research. In Germany, which has prestigious traditions and education for the young in zoology and has been ahead with studies on non-model organisms, I was exposed to the latest researches and made every effort to improve my communication and discussion skills through active discussion in English with speakers. Most of them were working on animals collected in the field by themselves, so I was able to gain knowledge about these animals, comparable to knowledge obtained by field training by myself. In addition, I succeeded in acquiring knowledge about the latest research on model organisms, such as Hydra, Drosophila, C. elegans, Zebrafish and Xenopus.

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