Report on the Selection for the 2014 Zoological Society Award, etc.
Selection Committee for the Zoological Society of Japan Awards and Other Honors
Committee Chairman Yoshiro Takei

2014 Zoological Society of Japan Award

The five applicants for this award are outstanding researchers representing diverse fields of zoology, and they met the criteria stipulated in the selection regulations: "researchers who have achieved academically extremely beneficial results that make important and remarkable contributions to the progress and development of zoology." Although the selection process was extremely difficult, as a result of detailed deliberations on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and degree of contribution to the progress and development of zoology, we have decided to recommend the following candidate to the Board of Directors. 

Hitoshi Sawada, Professor, Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University Research theme: "Study on the fertilization mechanism of ascidians"

Reason for Nomination Member Hitoshi Sawada has achieved remarkable accomplishments regarding the fertilization mechanism of ascidians (sea squirts), specifically the action mechanism of lysin involved in sperm-egg interactions and the molecular mechanism concerning self-incompatibility. First, he identified two types of lysins from the sperm of the ascidian *Halocynthia roretzi* and identified the proteasome as the enzyme that degrades the sperm receptor on the vitelline envelope. Next, together with collaborators, he discovered ThemIS—a molecule whose sequence varies significantly among individuals—as a candidate factor causing self-incompatibility in the ascidian *Ciona intestinalis*, and clarified the relationship between ThemIS-mediated self-incompatibility and changes in intracellular sperm calcium concentration. These discoveries make a major contribution to the understanding of allo-recognition mechanisms in animals lacking an adaptive immune system, and are also noteworthy for pointing out commonalities with self-incompatibility in plants. In this way, Member Hitoshi Sawada is highly evaluated internationally not only for leading fertilization research in Japan, but also for creating an academic field capable of addressing the commonalities between animals and plants. We judge that Member Sawada's research, which has greatly contributed to the development of zoology, is worthy of the Society Award, and we unanimously nominate him as a candidate.