Munetaka Kawamoto

TL;DR: It is shown that the silencing of Masc messenger RNA by Fem piRNA is required for the production of female-specific isoforms of Bmdsx in female embryos, and that Masc protein controls both dosage compensation and masculinization in male embryos.

TL;DR: In this paper, a hybrid assembly and gene models for the domestic silkworm, Bombyx mori, were published by a Japanese and Chinese collaboration group, where the remaining gaps in the initial genome assembly were closed using BAC and Fosmid sequences, giving a new total length of 460.3

TL;DR: It is shown for the first time that Wolbachia targets the host masculinizing gene of Ostrinia to accomplish male-killing and a novel strategy by which a pathogen hijacks the host sex determination cascade is shown.

TL;DR: Cloned and characterized a Masc homologue (TvMasc) in Trilocha varians, a species closely related to B. mori, and found that Masc genes play similar roles in the sex‐determination cascade in Bombycidae.

TL;DR: It is concluded that a mutation in BmPTS leads to an insufficient supply of BH4 and results in defective dopamine biosynthesis and lack of dopamine results in cuticle colouration and sclerotisation failure.