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Yoshinori Tomoyasu

Biographical Information

Insect wings exhibit remarkable diversity, making them an exceptional model to explore the genetic and genomic mechanisms driving morphological evolution. Our research aims to unravel the molecular processes that shape insect wing evolution, from the evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) basis of wing diversification to the origin of insect wings.

We use Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) and Tribolium castaneum (the red flour beetle) as model organisms, capitalizing on their advanced genetic toolkits. Our work integrates various functional genomics approaches, such as RNA interference gene knockdown, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, chromatin profiling, and transcriptome analysis. Through our multidisciplinary approach, we aim to further our understanding of the genetic mechanism underlying morphological innovation and evolution.

Selected Publications

• A new suite of reporter vectors and a novel landing site survey system to study cis-regulatory elements in diverse insect species. Deem, K.D.*, Halfon, M.S., Tomoyasu, Y. Scientific Reports May 2;14(1):10078. (2024) doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60432-9.
• Linz, D. M.*, Hara, Y., Deem, K.D.*, Kuraku, S., Hayashi, S., Tomoyasu, Y., Transcriptomic exploration of the coleopteran wings reveals insight into the evolution of novel structures associated with the beetle elytron. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 340(2):197-213. (2023) doi: 10.1002/jez.b.23188.
• Clark-Hachtel C.M*, Tomoyasu, Y. Two sets of candidate crustacean wing homologues and their implication to the origin of insect wings. Ecol. Evol., 4 (12), 1694-1702 (2020). Featured on the cover and a News & Views.
• Lai, YT*, Deem, K.D*., Borras-Castells, F., Sambrani, N., Rudolf, H., Suryamohan, K., El-Sherif, E., Halfon, M.S., McKay, D.J., Tomoyasu, Y. Enhancer identification and activity evaluation in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Development160663 (2018)
• Linz, D.M.*, Tomoyasu, Y. Dual evolutionary origin of insect wings supported by an investigation of the abdominal wing serial homologs in Tribolium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(4):E658-E667 (2018)
• Linz, D.M.*, Hu, A.W.**, Sitvarin M.I, Tomoyasu, Y. Functional value of elytra under various stresses in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Scientific Reports. 6, Article number: 34813 (2016)
• Ravisankar, P.*, Lai, Y.*, Sambrani, N., Tomoyasu, Y. Comparative developmental analysis of Drosophila and Tribolium reveals conserved and diverged roles of abrupt in insect wing evolution. Developmental Biology. 409 (2), 518-529 (2016)
• Clark-Hachtel C.M*., Linz D.M.*, Tomoyasu Y. Insights into Insect Wing Origin Provided by Functional Analysis of vestigial in the Beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 110(42):16951-6. (2013)
• Tomoyasu, Y., Arakane, Y., Kramer, K.J., Denell, R.E. Repeated co-options of exoskeleton formation during wing-to-elytron evolution in beetles. Curr Biol. 19(24):2057-65. (2009)
• Tomoyasu Y., Wheeler S.R.**, Denell R.E. Ultrabithorax is required for membranous wing identity in the beetle Tribolium castaneum. Nature. 433(7026):643-7. (2005)

* denotes ºÚÁÏÉçÇø graduate ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, ** denotes ºÚÁÏÉçÇø undergraduate ºÚÁÏÉçÇø

Courses Taught

• BIO116: Biological Concepts: Structure, Function, Cellular and Molecular Biology
• BIO147: First Year Seminar
• BIO444/544: Molecular Biology
• BIO464/564: Laboratory in Cell and Molecular Biology,
• BIO491: Zoology Senior Seminar (2011, 2013)
• BIO710: Graduate Seminar
• BIO605: Advanced Molecular Biology (2024)