Many textbooks state that phenotype is determined by the interaction between genotype and environment. However, most studies using model animals are conducted under conditions of constant temperature and day/night length, and few model animals can reproducibly study the genotype-phenotype relationship in relation to environmental changes. Medaka, a small temperate fish, can live in water temperatures ranging from 4°C in winter to 40°C in summer. They can also survive in both seawater and freshwater. Medaka are attracting attention as a model that can reproducibly analyze various life phenomena in such fluctuating environments. In this workshop, we will discuss medaka as new models for studies of gene-environment interactions, phenotypic variation among different environments or populations, and also discuss other topics.

This workshop is open to the public and in-person only, and we ask that you register in order to estimate the number of participants.　Officially language is English. 

Date: 26th -27th April 2024

Venue: National Institute for Basic Biology (See map below): 

Conference Room (1F, Room 111-112)

Reception: April 26, 12:30 - 13:15 p.m.

26th April 2024

13:20-13:30

Kiyoshi Naruse (National Institute for Basic Biology)

Opening remarks: MIKK Panel, Wild medaka derived strains and more

Why do we go to fishing in wild?

13:30-14:00

Bettina Welz (COS Heidelberg)

Discovery and functional validation of Gene x Environment interaction effects on medaka heart rate in response to temperature changes.

14:00-14:30

Risa Suzuki (COS Heidelberg)

Determination of the genetic contributors to visual traits & retina degeneration using a highly inbred population panel.

14:30-15:00

Satoshi Ansai (Ushimado Marine Institute, Okayama University)

Genomics in wild-derived strains of medaka and its relatives.

15:00-15:10

Coffee Break

15:10-15:40

Rie Hara and Masato Kinoshita (Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University）

Factors contributing to variation in vertebral numbers among local populations of medaka.

15:40-16:10

Ryutaro Ueda, Satoshi Ansai and Hideaki Takeuchi (Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University)

Rapid body coloration changes in Oryzias celebensis as a social signal influenced by environmental background.

16:10-16:40

Philip Watson (COS Heidelberg)

Gene-environment interactions in medaka – identification of genes that mediate pollutant responses.

16:40-17:10

Jochen Wittbrodt, (COS Heidelberg)

Medaka and the genetics of individuality.

17:40~   Seminar Room 1 (1F, Room132-134)

The social gathering party and discussion with foods and drinks. 

27th April 2024

9:00-9:30

Fanny Defranoux  (EMBL-EBI Hinxton/Cambridge)

The use of the Medaka Inbred Kiyosu-Karlsruhe panel to study GxE interactions after xenobiotic exposure.

9:30-10:00

Eitaro Sawayama　(Department of Marine Science, Nihon University)

A classical but new phenotypic plasticity of medaka: salinity acclimation.

10:00-10:30

Yusuke Takehana (Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology)

Diverse sex chromosomes and sex-determining genes in the medaka fishes.

10:30-10:40

Coffee Breaks

10:40-11:10

Ryu Tsukasa and Yukiko Ogino (Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University)

Regulatory mechanisms of androgen mediated sex characteristics in teleost fishes.

11:10-11:40

Thomas Thumberger (COS Heidelberg)

Human disease models by advanced genome editing.

Lunch time 11:40-12:30

12:30-13:30

Jochen Gehrig (Bruker ACQUIFER)

ACQUIFER IM - Automated Microscopy and Whole Organism Screening. (include Hands on seminar)

13:30-14:00

Saul Pierotti  (EMBL-EBI Hinxton/Cambridge)

Extensive Gene x Environment interactions in the outbred vertebrate genetics of a standard physiological phenotype.

14:00-14:30

Takashi Yoshimura (Nagoya University)

Medaka as a model to understand the seasonal timer and winter depression.

14:30-14:50

Coffee Breaks

14:50-15:20

Tomoya Nakayama (Nagoya University)

Transcriptome analysis of adaptation to seasonal temperature changes.

-Toward understanding the adaptation mechanisms of medaka to a wide range of temperatures-

15:20-15:50

Tokiho Akiyama and Takafumi Katsumura　（Laboratory of Anatomy, Kitasato University School of Medicine）

Medaka Anthropology: Understanding Human Variation in Natural Environments through Local Medaka Populations and Their Evolutionary History.

15:50-

Open discussion among presenters and audiences.