Endocrinology of Diversity Book Review
Written by Yoshiro Takei and Akira Mizoguchi, Maruzen Publishing, published on October 30, 2021
This book broadly covers various hormones and endocrine phenomena across a diverse range of animal species, including not only vertebrates but also invertebrates. In addition to the embryology and morphology of endocrine organs found in traditional books, it goes beyond describing phenomena related to each hormone and its receptor from a physiological perspective, delving into the latest findings revealed by recent molecular biological research. It is truly astonishing that such a vast amount of content has been written by only two authors. This book serves as an introductory text for graduate and undergraduate students beginning hormone research. At the same time, because it covers the evolution of endocrine phenomena not found in other books, it will also provide researchers conducting various types of hormone research with an opportunity to think about known endocrine phenomena from a multifaceted perspective by introducing them to the new field of comparative endocrinology.
This book is broadly divided into four parts. Part I provides an overview of the basic knowledge regarding hormones and endocrine phenomena, while Parts II and III broadly introduce endocrine phenomena involving hormones and their receptors in vertebrates and invertebrates, building upon the foundation laid in Part I. There is no other book that compiles the history and latest findings of so many hormones into a single volume, making it a very rewarding read. Furthermore, for researchers specializing in vertebrates and invertebrates respectively, it will allow them to sense not only the diversity of endocrine phenomena in both animal phyla, but also unexpected conservation and commonalities. Finally, Part IV is the true essence of this book, written with precise insight and broad knowledge by the authors, Dr. Yoshihisa Takei and Dr. Akira Mizoguchi, who have been active for many years as leaders in the field of comparative endocrinology, capturing the origin and evolution of endocrine phenomena. By reading this book, researchers in the endocrine field as well as those in other fields will undoubtedly come to recognize the importance of comparative endocrinology in comprehensively understanding endocrine phenomena.
Takashi Yazawa (Department of Biochemistry, Asahikawa Medical University)
