Biology subjects

Izawa, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Izawa, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Kidney-specific lipid metabolism underlies stable chemical individuality in domestic cats and other felids

Domestic cats uniquely accumulate lipid droplets (LDs) in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells, but their chemical composition and biological functions remain unknown. Here, we identify a distinctive renal specialization in felids: lipid droplets enriched in branched-chain fatty acids (BFAs). These BFAs accumulate as triglyceride components and are excreted in urine as free fatty acids with stable and individually distinctive profiles. Behavioral assays show that cats discriminate urine samples based on BFA composition, even against complex volatile backgrounds, suggesting BFAs as robust, metabolically encoded olfactory signatures for individual recognition. Comparative analyses of non-domesticated felids reveal that BFA production is broadly conserved but exhibits both species-specific and individual variation. These findings demonstrate how a core metabolic pathway has been evolutionarily co-opted into a chemical signature system. This discovery highlights an unusual integration of renal physiology with social communication and expand our understanding of lipid metabolism, organ-level adaptation, and the evolution of chemical individuality in mammals. Significance statementUnique lipid droplets in felid kidneys reveal how organ-specific metabolism can be adapted for social communication.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2020

Variation and mechanisms of life history evolution in insular dwarfism as revealed by a natural experiment

Islands are a classic focus for evolutionary studies. One subject of much interest has been the evolution of "dwarfs", significantly smaller island mammals relative to their continental counterparts. Although a consensus has been achieved that multivariate ecological causes are behind body size changes, the processes involved remain largely unexplored. Life history variables, including the age of first reproduction, growth rate, and longevity, are probably key to understanding the process of insular dwarfism. The Japanese Archipelago with numerous islands offers a unique natural experiment of evolution into different sizes within the same group of organisms, deer. Thus, we investigated eight deer populations with a total number of 52 individuals exhibiting body size variation, both extant and fossil, to clarify the effect of insularity on life history traits. We applied several methods to both extant and extinct populations to resolve life history changes among deer populations. Skeletochronology, using lines of arrested growth formed in long bones (femur and tibia), successfully reconstructed body growth curves and revealed a gradual change in growth trajectories reflecting the degree of insularity. Slower growth rates with prolonged growth periods in more isolated deer populations were revealed. An extensive examination of bone microstructure further corroborated this fact, with much slower growth and later somatic maturity evident in fossil insular deer isolated for more than 1.5 Myr. Finally, mortality patterns assessed by demographic analysis showed variation among deer populations, with a life history of insular populations shifting toward the "slow life".

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Population genetic structure in the insular Ryukyu flying fox, Pteropus dasymallus

Small isolated populations are vulnerable to both stochastic events and the negative consequences of genetic drift. For threatened species, the genetic management of such populations has therefore become a crucial aspect of conservation. Flying foxes (Pteropus spp, Chiroptera) are keystone species with essential roles in pollination and seed dispersal in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Yet many flying fox species are also of conservation concern, having experienced dramatic population declines driven by habitat loss and hunting. The Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) ranges from Japan and Taiwan to the northern Philippines, and has undergone precipitous population crashes on several islands in recent decades. To assess population genetic structure and diversity in P. dasymallus, and its likely causes, we analyzed mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA. Both markers showed significant genetic differentiation among most island populations with patterns of isolation-by-distance. However, while mitochondrial haplotypes showed some mixing across the region, likely reflecting historical colonization and/or dispersal events, microsatellites markers showed clear subdivisions corresponding to the position of deep ocean trenches. The current distribution of P. dasymallus and its subspecific diversity therefore appears to have arisen through vicariance coupled with a long history of restricted gene flow across oceanic barriers. We conclude that isolated island subgroups should be managed separately, with efforts directed at reducing further declines.

ecology↗