Yukako HATTORI Associate Professor
  • Period
    第15期(Term: from Apr. 2025)
    グローバル型
  • Research Interests
    Developmental Biology
  • Research Topic
    Study on environmental adaptation mechanisms underlying animal developmental processes
  • Host Department
    Graduate School of Biostudies
  • Previous Affiliation
    Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University

A wide variety of organisms inhabit the Earth, each adapting to different environments. For example, habitats, diets, and symbiotic microorganisms differ greatly even among closely related species. However, it remains largely unknown what differences in genetic information contribute to the diversity of survival strategies. I focus particularly on nutrition as a key environmental factor, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms of nutritional adaptation and its diversity. Specifically, I have been studying the molecular mechanisms that drive the diversity of nutritional adaptation in closely related Drosophila (fruit fly) species with different natural diets. Furthermore, since yeast and bacteria play an essential role in the growth of wild Drosophila larvae, I have also been analyzing their functions. In the Hakubi Project, I aim to uncover how higher-order regulation of genetic information, particularly through chromatin structure, contributes to nutritional adaptation and how Drosophila-associated yeast and bacteria support organ development in larvae.