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NIBB Conferences - Conference

The 52nd NIBB Conference "Reproductive Strategies"

Organizers Motonori Hoshi (Keio Univ.)
Venue Okazaki Conference Center, Okazaki, Japan
Date Jan. 20-23, 2006
Link Website (http://www.nibb.ac.jp/conf52/)
Poster The 52nd NIBB Conference

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Reproduction is one of the most characteristic features of living organisms. Essential for preserving species, this ability to reproduce has maintained life since its beginnings 3.8 billion years ago. For mammals, including human beings, reproduction and sex (a mechanism for shuffling genes) are inseparable and each individual has a fixed sex. There exists, however, a great variety of reproductive strategies. Some living organisms reproduce asexually, while others use either sexual or asexual reproduction strategies depending upon the circumstances. Some organisms change their sex during their lifetime.
This conference brought together participants ranging in experience from veteran scientists whose names appear in the history of molecular biology to graduate students. The participants engaged in intense and spirited discussions on many aspects of sex and reproduction. Why does sex exist? How much diversity is there among reproductive strategies? How did such strategies evolve? What is the biological significance of such strategies? Discussions on these and other topics provided research training opportunities as well as opportunities to establish and develop friendships transcending age, experience, and nationality.


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Program
Program  
January 20 (Friday)
15:00- Registration (at the Okazaki Conference Center)
17:00-18:30 Get Together (at the Okazaki Conference Center)
   
January 21 (Saturday)
09:00-09:05 Opening Address
  M. Hoshi (Keio University)
09:05-09:15 Welcome Address
  M. Katsuki (National Institute for Basic Biology)
09:15-09:30 "Reproduction as a Subject of Integrative Biology"
  M. H. Wake (University of California, Berkeley)
09:30-10:30 Opening Lecture (Chair: M. Hoshi)
  "Why Does Sexual Reproduction Exist?"
  M. S. Meselson (Harvard University)
10:30-10:50 Break
   
10:50-12:50 Session 1. Origin and Evolution of Sexual Reproduction (Chair: Tim Birkhead)
   
  "Sex as a Strategy to Fight against'Non-Selr DNA"
  I. Kobayashi (University of Tokyo)
   
  "Reproduction Strategies and Configurations of Genetic Materials"
  F. Ishikawa (Kyoto University)
   
  "Gender Expression and Evolution: One or  Two Sexes per  Individual Makes a Big Difference"
  N. Michiels (University of Tuebingen)
   
  "Transition from Fissiparous to Oviparous Form by a Sexualizing Substance(s) in the Planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis"
  K. Kobayashi (Keio University)
12:50-14:00 Lunch
   
14:00-15:30 Session 2. Determination and Differentiation of Sex (Chair: S. Kobayashi)
   
  "Sex Chromosome Evolution in the XO Mammal, the Amami Spiny Rat (Tokudaia osimensis)"
  A. Kuroiwa (Hokkaido University)
   
  "Sex Determination and  Differentiation in Fish"
  Y. Nagahama (National Institute for Basic Biology)
   
  "Genetic Program of Gonad Differentiation"
  K. Morohashi (National Institute for Basic Biology)
15:30-15:50 Break
   
15:50-18:20 Session 3. Germ Differentiation and Meiosis (Chair: M. Hasebe)
   
  "Germline-Soma Differentiation: Can Phylogeny Predict Molecular Mechanisms of Germ Cell Specification?"
  C. G. M. Extavour (University of Cambridge)
   
  "Early Segregation of Germ and Somatic Lineages during Gonadal Regeneration in the Annelid, Enchytraeus japonensis"
  Y. Takahashi (Nara Institute of Science and Technology)
   
  "Postembryonic Germ Cell Formation from Multipotent Haemoblasts in Colonial Ascidians"
  T. Sunanaga (Kochi University)
   
  "The Stability of Meiosis-Specific Messenger RNA Provides a Novel Paradigm for the Regulation of Meiosis in Fission Yeast"
  M. Yamamoto (University of Tokyo)
   
  "Cell Cycle Arrest Awaiting Fertilization"
  K. Tachibana and T. Kishimoto (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
18:20-20:30 Dinner
   
20:30-21:30 Poster Session-1 (Free Discussion over Drinks)
   
January 22 (Sunday)
09:00-10:30 Session 3. Germ Differentiation and Meiosis (continued)
   
  "The Mechanisms Underlying Pole Cell Formation and Differentiation in Drosophila Embryos"
  S. Kobayashi (National Institute for Basic Biology)
   
  "Mechanism of Meiosis Initiation during Spermatogenesis"
  S. Abe (Kumamoto University)
   
  "Derivation of Germ Cells from ES Cells and Sexual Differentiation in Culture"
  T. Noce (Mitsubishi-Kagaku Institute of Life Sciences)
10:30-10:50 Break
   
10:50-12:20 Session 4. Gamete Interactions (Chair: K. Morohashi)
   
  "Ion Channels and Sperm Physiology"
  A. Darszon (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)
   
  "Ovulation and Egg Activation in Drosophila"
   
  T. Aigaki (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
   
  "Molecular Mechanism of Sperm Activation in the Ascidian Ciona intestinalis"
  K. Inaba (University of Tsukuba)
12:20-13:50 Lunch
   
13:50-14:50 Session 4. Gamete Interactions (continued)
   
  "Observation of Sperm-Egg Interaction through Gene-Manipulated Mouse Lines"
  M. Okabe (Osaka University)
   
  "Tandem Repeats and the Evolution of Species-Specific Fertilization in Free Spawning Marine Invertebrates"
  V. D. Vacquier (University of California, San Diego)
   
14:50-16:20 Session 5. Allo-Recognition in Sexual Reproduction (Chair: M. Hoshi)
   
  "Molecular Basis of Sperm-Egg Interaction in Ascidian Fertilization"
  H. Sawada (Nagoya University)
   
  "MHC Relatedness Affects Pre- and Post-Copulatory Reproductive Tactics in a Lizard"
  M. Olsson (University of Wollongong)
   
  "Fetomaternal Relationships of Viviparous Reptiles"
  J. R. Stewart (East Tennessee State University)
16:20-16:40 Break
   
16:40-19:10 Session 6. Epigenetics (Chair: M. Wada)
   
  "Epigenetic Inheritance of Developmental Variation,  Transposon  Activity, and DNA Methylation in Arabidopsis"
  T. Kakutani (National Institute of Genetics)
   
  "Non-Mendelian Inheritance of DNA Sequence Information in Arabidopsis"
  R. E. :Pruitt (Purdue University)
   
  "Evolution of Floral Homeotic Genes in Land Plants"
  M. Hasebe (National Institute for Basic Biology)
   
  "Epigenetic Control of Meiosis by a Novel Histone Methyltransferase, Meisetz"
  Y. Matsui (Tohoku University)
   
  "The Necessity of Genomic Imprinting in Mammals"
  F. Ishino (Tokyo Medical and Dental University)
19:10-20:30 Dinner
   
20:30-21:30 Poster Session-2 (Explanation by the Authors)
   
January 23 (Monday)
09:00-10:30 Session 7. Evolution and Adaptation of Embryos and Larvae (Chair: Y. Nagahama)
   
  "Strategies of Robustness during Development"
  D. Epel (Stanford University)
   
  "Reproductive Strategies in Colonial Animals"
  C. Nielsen (University of Copenhagen)
   
  "Consequences of Evolutionary Pressure on Reproduction and Developmental Strategies in Annelids"
  A. Dorresteijn (Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen)
10:30-11:00 Break
   
11:00-12:30 Session 7. Evolution and Adaptation of Embryos and Larvae (continued)
   
  "Thyroid Hormones as Regulators of Complex Life Histories in Marine Invertebrates"
  A. Heyland (Whitney Laboratory)
   
  "Modifications of Larval Form, Function, and Metamorphosis in Direct-Developing and Live-Bearing Amphibians"
  M. H. Wake (University of California, Berkeley)
   
  "Evolution of Life History and Complex Life Cycle"
  Y. Iwasa (Kyushu University)
12:30-14:00 Lunch
   
14:00-15:30 Session 8. Conflict and Competition in Sexual Reproduction (Chair: M. Wake)
   
  "Genetic Conflict and the Origins of Asymmetric Genetic Systems"
  B. Normark (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
   
  "Sperm Precedence Revisited by Tracking Down Rival Sperm within Females"
  D. Joly (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
   
  "Reproductive Conflict in Ant Societies"
  J. Heinze (University of Regensburg)
15:30-16:00 Break
   
16:00-17:00 Session 8. Conflict and Competition in Sexual Reproduction (continued)
   
  "Pre- and Post-Copulatory Sexual Selection in Birds"
  T. Birkhead (University of Sheffield)
   
  "Experimental Tests of Sex Allocation Theory in a Simultaneous Hermaphrodite, the Free-Living Flatworm Macrostomum lignano"
  L. Scharer (University oflnnsbruck)
   
17:00-17:30 "Conclusions and Prospects" (Chair: M. Hoshi)
  M. H. Wake (University of California, Berkeley)
   
17:30-18:30 Visit to NIBB
   
19:30-21:30 Banquet (at Okazaki New Grand Hotel)

Conference