Y. Chikami

Soma-germ contact across the basement membrane in the ovary

The paper reveals that ovarian follicle cells in myriapods extend cytoplasmic processes through the basement membrane to directly contact oocytes, challenging the notion that the basement membrane is a barrier to soma-germ communication.

Fruitless mating with the exes: the irreversible parthenogenesis in a stick insect

This study examines sexual reproduction in the Japanese stick insect Ramulus mikado, finding that rare males lack sperm and offspring show no paternal alleles, supporting irreversible asexual reproduction.

The structural and functional modularity of ovarian follicle epithelium in the pill-millipede Hyleoglomeris japonica (Myriapoda: Diplopoda: Pentazonia: Glomerida) and the morphological reconsideration of somatic tissues around oocytes in Myriapoda

This study identifies structurally and functionally distinct domains in the follicle epithelium of Hyleoglomeris japonica, challenging previous assumptions about myriapod ovarian somatic tissue roles.

Evolutionary history of sexual differentiation mechanism in insects

The paper investigates the evolutionary history of the doublesex gene in insects, finding it initially promoted male differentiation but later acquired female-specific functions in holometabolan species.

Evolutionary origin of sex differentiation system in insects

The paper investigates the evolutionary origin of insect sex differentiation systems by analyzing the ancestral function of doublesex in Thermobia domestica, revealing functional discordance between phenotypic and transcriptional levels.