Selection Report for FY2015 Academic Awards and Others
Selection Committee for the Zoological Society of Japan Awards and Other Honors
Committee Chairperson Takahiro Asami

2015 Zoological Society of Japan Award

All 5 applicants for this award were outstanding researchers representing diverse fields of zoology, and all met the selection criteria of being "researchers who have achieved academically extremely beneficial results that make important and remarkable contributions to the progress and development of zoology." The selection process was extremely difficult, but as a result of detailed deliberations regarding the applicants' research content, research achievements, and degree of contribution to the progress and development of zoology, the following two individuals (in Japanese alphabetical order) were decided to be recommended to the Board of Directors.

Teruaki Nishikawa, former professor at Toho University and professor emeritus at Nagoya University. Research theme: "Phylogenetic taxonomy of marine invertebrates"

Reason for Nomination: Member Teruaki Nishikawa has advanced the phylogenetic taxonomy of ascidians, amphioxus, acorn worms, pterobranchs, echiurans, and sipunculans as a world-leading authority. He has published 41 original papers on ascidians—totaling over 600 species—and established 23 new species. He has also published numerous works on echiurans and sipunculans, which are phylogenetically distant from ascidians, making unrivaled contributions to improving academic and social understanding of the taxonomy of these animal groups. His research on spoon worms of the family Bonellidae and the genus *Yumea* overturned established theories in phylogenetic taxonomy and drew worldwide attention. Among amphioxus, he originally described the skeleton amphioxus (*Asymmetron inferum*), which lives at depths exceeding 200 meters near whale falls, in *Zoological Science*, bringing the first new species of amphioxus in 80 years. He completed the Japanese translation of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Fourth Edition, contributing to its education and dissemination. The magnitude of his achievements in leading global phylogenetic taxonomy through this broad and profound academic research and contributing from Japan to the international advancement of natural history research makes him highly deserving of the Zoological Society of Japan Award.

 Abstract by the Awardee of the Academic Prize (Teruaki Nishikawa)

Masakane Yamashita, Professor at Hokkaido University. Research theme: "Elucidation of the mechanism ultimately inducing oocyte maturation: Universality and diversity in the formation/activation mechanism of maturation-promoting factor (MPF)."

Reason for Nomination: While arrested in the first prophase of meiosis, oocytes accumulate substances necessary for embryonic development, and upon subsequent hormonal stimulation, resume meiosis to become fertilization-competent at the metaphase of the second division. This process is called oocyte maturation, and the maturation-promoting factor (MPF) plays a particularly crucial role in it. Although the identity of MPF remained unclear since its discovery in 1971, Dr. Yamashita demonstrated that MPF consists solely of Cdc2 and cyclin B, and that while the molecular structure of the MPF entity is identical across various animals, the formation process of active MPF differs among animal species. Furthermore, he identified the Pumilio protein, which regulates the stage-specific translation of cyclin B mRNA, and elucidated the mechanism by which oocytes resume meiosis in response to hormonal stimulation. Consistently conducting world-leading research in the study of oocyte maturation and making immense contributions to the development of the field of reproductive biology, Member Yamashita's achievements make him highly deserving of the Zoological Society of Japan Award.

Abstract of the Academic Award Winner (Masakane Yamashita)