International College of Arts and Sciences Department of Environmental Science: Back Page

Professor

Nobuyuki INOMATA

Brief personal history

Education:
1987-1991 Kyushu University, Faculty of Sciences, Japan.

1991-1997 Kyushu University, Graduate School of Sciences, Japan.
Ph.D. Supervisor: Dr. Tsuneyuki Yamazaki.

Positions:
1997 Postdoctoral Fellow, Kyushu University, Department of Biology, Japan.

1997-2010 Assistant Professor, Kyushu University, Graduate School of Sciences, Japan.

2011- Associate Professor, Fukuoka Women's University, Japan.

Degrees

1991 Bachelor of Science
1993 Master of Science
1997 Ph. D.

Research themes

Studies on evolutionary mechanisms of organisms in the wild

Brief explanation of research

My main interest is to understand evolutionary mechanisms of organisms in the wild. In particular, I am interested in molecular and genetic bases of adaptation to environmental changes. Analyses of the levels and patterns of naturally occurring genetic variation within and between species enable us to infer what evolutionary forces have acted on proteins and nucleotide sequences. Population genetic surveys provide information about fitness-related genes upon which natural selection acts. Also they provide the current genetic structure, and thus we can infer the history of the species. Obtained information could be useful for conservation of nature.

Current studies focus on:
・ Detection and characterization of genetic factors responsible for environmental changes
・ Molecular evolution of the duplicated genes
・ Evolution of regulatory systems of gene expression
・ Phylogeography of organisms

Select publication list

1.Inomata, N., Hironaka, K., Sawada, K., Kuriwada, T., Yamahira, K. (2015) Discrepancy in the degree of population differentiation between color-morph frequencies and neutral genetic loci in the damselfly Ischnura senegalensis in Okinawa Island, Japan. Genetica 143: 271-277.

2.Ng, W.L., Onishi, Y., Inomata, N., Teshima, K.M., Chan, H. T., Baba, S., Changtragoon, S., Siregar, I. Z., Szmidt, A. E. (2015) Closely related and sympatric but not all the same: genetic variation of Indo-West Pacific Rhizophora mangroves across the Malay Peninsula. Conserv Genet 16: 137-150.

3.Shirai, K., Inomata, N., Mizoiri, S., Aibara, M., Terai, Y., Okada, N., Tachida, H. (2014) High prevalence of non-synonymous substitutions in mtDNA of cichlid fishes from Lake Victoria. Gene: 552: 239-245.

4.Kurita, T., Aoyama, H., Saitoh, S., Shinzato, N., Sawada, K., Kuriwada, T., Hironaka, K., Inomata, N., Yamahira, K., Toda, M. (2014) Isolation and validation of eight microsatellite loci in a damselfly Ischnura senegalensis (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) by pyrosequencing a bead-enriched library. Appl Entomol Zool 49: 623-626.

5.Yoshida, T., Tamekuni, M., Yahara, T. Inomata, N., Tachida, H. (2014) Demographic history of a common pioneer tree, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, reconstructed using isolation-with-migration model. Tree Genetics & Genomes 10: 1213-1222.

6.Wang, B., Khalili Mahani, M., Ng, W.L., Kusumi, J., Phi, H.H., Inomata, N., Wang, X., Szmidt, A. E. (2014) A. Extremely low nucleotide polymorphism in Pinus krempfii Lecomte, a unique flat needle pine endemic to Vietnam. Ecology and Evolution 4: 2228-2238.

7.Urashi, C., Teshima, K., Minobe, S., Koizumi, O., Inomata, N. (2013) Inferences on evolutionary history of a widely distributed mangrove species, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, in the Indo-West Pacific region. Ecology and Evolution 3: 2251-2261.

8.Wachi, N., Abe, Y., Inomata, N., Szmidt, A. E., Tachida, H. (2012) Speciation History of Three Closely Related Oak Gall Wasps, Andricus mukaigawae, A. kashiwaphilus, and A. pseudoflos (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) Inferred from Nuclear DNA and Mitochondrial DNA Sequences. Mol. Ecol. 21: 4681-4694.

9.Iwanaga, H., Teshima, K., Khatab, I., Inomata, N., Finkeldey, R., Siregar, I., Siregar, U., Szmidt, A.E. (2012) Population structure and demographic history of a tropical lowland rainforest tree species Shorea parvifolia (Dipterocarpaceae) from Southeastern Asia. Ecology and Evolution 2: 1663-1675.

10.Tanaka, A., Ohtani, M., Suyama, Y., Inomata, N., Tsumura, Y., Middleton., B. A., Tachida, H., Kusumi, J. (2012) Population genetic structure of a widespread coniferous tree, Taxodium distichum [L.] Rich. (Cupressaceae), in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley and Florida. Tree Genetics & Genomes 8: 1135-1147.

11.Shibata, T., Ariki, S., Shinzawa, N., Miyaji, R., Suyama, H., Miyuki Sako, M., Inomata, N., Koshiba, T., Kanuka, H., Kawabata, S. (2010) Protein crosslinking by transglutaminase controls cuticle morphogenesis in Drosophila. PLoS One 5:e13477.

12.Itoh, M., Nanba, N., Hasegawa, M., Inomata, N., Kondo, R., Ohshima, M.,Takano-Shimizu, T. (2010) Seasonal changes in the long-distance linkage disequilibrium in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Heredity 101: 26-32.

13.Inomata, N., Wang, X.-R., Changtragoon, S., Szmidt. A. E. (2009) Levels and patterns of DNA variation in two sympatric mangrove species, Rhizophora apiculata and R. mucronata from Thailand. Genes & Genetic Systems 84: 277-286.

14.Mahani, M. K., Inomata, N., Saboori, A., Tabatabaei, B. A. D. E. S., Ishiyama. H., Ariana, A. and Szmidt, A. E. (2009) Genetic variation in populations of Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing (Acari: Trombidiidae) from Northern Iran revealed by mitochondrial coxI and nuclear rDNA ITS2 sequences. Experimental and Applied Acarology 48: 273–289.

15.Inomata, N. and Nakashima, S. (2008) Short 5′-flanking regions of the Amy gene of Drosophila kikkawai affect amylase gene expression and respond to food environments. Gene 412: 102-109.

16.Araki, N. H. T., Khatab, I. A., Hemamali, K. K. G. U., Inomata, N., Wang, X-R. and Szmidt, A. E. (2008) Phylogeography of Larix sibirica L. and L. sukaczewii Dyl. inferred from nucleotide variation of nuclear genes. Tree Genetics & Genomes 4: 611-623.

17.Ishiyama, H., Inomata, N., Yamazaki, T., Ab Shukor, N. A., Szmidt, A. E. (2008) Demographic history and interspecific hybridization of four Shorea species (Dipterocarpaceae) from Peninsular Malaysia inferred from nucleotide polymorphism in nuclear gene regions. Can. J. Forest Res. 38: 996-1007.

18.Khatab, I. A., Ishiyama, H., Inomata, N., Wang, X-R., Szmidt, A. E. (2008) Phylogeography of Eurasian Larix species inferred from nucleotide variation in two nuclear genes. Gen. Gent. Sys. 83: 55-66.

19.Inomata, N., Itoh, M., Kondo, R., Ohshima, M., Inoue, Y., Takano-Shimizu, T. (2008) A new test for detecting ongoing selection. Genetica 133: 321-334.

20.Gamage, D. T., de Silva, M. P., Inomata, N., Yamazaki, T., Szmidt, A. E. (2006) Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the sub-family Dipterocarpoideae (Dipterocarpaceae) based on chloroplast DNA sequences. Gen. Gent. Sys. 81:1-12.

21.Goto, H., Szmidt, A. E., Yamazaki, T. and Inomata, N. (2005) Effect of nucleotide polymorphism in cis-regulatory and coding regions on amylase activity and fitness in Drosophila melanogaster. Heredity 95: 369-376

22.Araki, H., Yoshizumi, S., Inomata, N., Yamazaki, T. (2005) Genetic co-adaptation of the Amylase gene system in Drosophila melanogaster: Evidence for the selective advantage of the lowest AMY activity and of its epistatic genetic background. J. Heredity 96:388-395.

23.Takano-Shimizu, T., Kawabe, A., Inomata, N., Nanba, N., Kondo, R., Inoue, Y. and Itoh, M. (2004) Interlocus nonrandom association of polymorphisms in Drosophila chemoreceptor genes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 101:14156-14161.

24.Inomata, N., Goto, H., Itoh, M. and Isono, K. (2004) A Single-amino-acid change of the gustatory receptor gene, Gr5a, has a major effect on trehalose sensitivity in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 167:1749-1758.

25.Goto, H., Inomata, N., Szmidt, A. E., Yamazaki, T. (2004) Nucleotide variation of seven genes in Drosophila kikkawai. Gen. Gent. Sys. 79:19-26.

26.Zhang, Z., Inomata, N., Yamazaki, T. and Kishino, H. (2003) Evolutionary history and mode of the amylase multigene family in Drosophila. J. Mol. Evol. 57:702-709.

27.Zhang, Z., Inomata, N., Cariou, M.-L., Da Lage, J.-L., Yamazaki, T. (2003) Phylogeny and the evolution of the Amylase multigenes in the Drosophila montium species subgroup. J. Mol. Evol. 56:121-130.

28.Zhang, Z., Inomata, N., Ohba, T., Cariou, M.-L., Yamazaki, T. (2002) Codon bias differentiates between the duplicated Amylase loci following gene duplication in Drosophila. Genetics 161:1187-1196.

29.Inomata, N. and Yamazaki, T. (2002) Nucleotide variation of the duplicated Amylase genes in Drosophila kikkawai. Mol. Biol. Evol. 19:678-688.

30.Araki, H., Inomata, N., Yamazaki, T. (2001) Molecular evolution of duplicated amylase gene regions in Drosophila melanogaster: Evidence of positive selection in the coding regions and selective constraint in the cis-regulatory regions. Genetics 157:667-677.

31.Inomata, N. and Yamazaki, T. (2000) Evolution of nucleotide substitutions and gene regulation in the amylase multigenes in Drosophila kikkawai and its sibling species. Mol. Biol. Evol. 17:601-615.

32.Matsuo, Y., Inomata, N, Yamazaki, T. (1999) Evolution of the amylase isozymes in Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup. Biochem. Genet. 37:289-300.

33.Inomata, N., Tachida, H. and Yamazaki, T. (1997) Molecular evolution of the Amy multigenes in the subgenus Sophophora of Drosophila. Mol. Biol. Evol. 14:942-950.

34.Inomata, N. and Yamazaki, T. (1996) Adaptive evolution at the molecular level of the duplicated Amy gene system in Drosophila. J. Genetics 75: 125-137.

35.Inomata, N., Kanda, K., Cariou, M. L., Tachida, H., Yamazaki, T. (1995) Evolution of the response patterns to dietary carbohydrates and the developmental differentiation of gene expression of alpha-amylase in Drosophila. J. Mol. Evol. 41:1076-1084.

36.Inomata, N., Shibata, H., Okuyama, E., Yamazaki, T. (1995) Evolutionary relationships and sequence variation of alpha-amylase variants encoded by duplicated genes in the Amy locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 141: 237-244.

Research field

Population Genetics
Molecular Evolution

Membership of Academic Societies

The Genetic Society of Japan
Society of Evolutionary studies, Japan

Lecture subjects

FYSI, II
Fundamental Biological Experiment
Genetics
Conservation Biology
Molecular Evolution

Related field

Environmental Science

Keywords

Evolution, Drosophila, Gene Duplication, Adaptation