Shoji Kawamura Lab Home Page

Home page updated January 1st, 2026: "Publications", "Conference Presentations"
Lab introduction video Here
Entrance Exam information Here

Recent publications:

Ji, Q., Hou, M., Akhtar, M. S., Hayakawa, T., Toda, Y., Itoigawa, A., Imai, H., Ishida, T., Melin, A. D. and Kawamura, S. (2025 Nov 6). Relaxation of selective constraint on the sweet-taste receptor gene TAS1R2 in lorisiform primates. Scientific Reports, 15 (1): 38091. Press Release, Nov. 6, 2025
Fernandes, A. G., Hernandez, S., C., Navaro, R. L., Kawamura, S. and Melin, A. D. (2025 Feb 11). Droplet digital PCR provides highly sensitive and accurate opsin gene SNP detection from wild primate fecal samples. Ecology and Evolution, 15 (2): e70996.
Jack, K. M., Kulick, N. K., Valerie A.M. Schoof, V. A. M., Wikberg, E., Kawamura, S. and Fedigan, L. M. (2025 Jan). And baby makes three: Postpartum changes in male-female affiliative interactions in white-faced capuchins. American Journal of Primatology, 87 (1): e23691.
Akhtar, M. S. and Kawamura, S. (2024 Jul 27). A protocol to extract a specific genomic region from a public whole-genome database and modify analytical bin length for population genetic studies. Methods and Protocols, 7 (4): 57.
Hou, M., Akhtar, M. S., Hayashi, M., Ashino, R., Matsumoto-Oda, A., Hayakawa, T., Ishida, T, Melin, A. D., Imai, H. and Kawamura, S. (2024 Jul). Reduction of bitter taste receptor gene family in folivorous colobine primates relative to omnivorous cercopithecine primates. Primates, 65 (4): 311-331. Press Release, Apr. 12, 2024
Kawamura, S. (2024 Jan). Through cross-disciplinary collaboration. Primates, 65 (1): 7-13.
Sakamoto, S., Matsushita, Y., Itoigawa, A., Ezawa, T., Fujitani, T., Takakura, K., Zhou, Y., Zhang, G., Grutzner, F., Kawamura, S. and Hayakawa, T. (2024 Jan 2). Color vision evolution in egg-laying mammals: insights from visual photoreceptors and daily activities of Australian echidnas. Zoological Letters, 10: 2.
Suire, A., Kunita, I. Harel, R., Crofoot, M., Mutinda, M., Kamau, M., Hassel, J. M., Murray, S., Kawamura, S., Matsumoto-Oda, A. (2023 Nov 8). Estimating individual exposure to predation risk in group-living baboons, Papio Anubis. PLoS ONE, 18(11): e0287357.
Hiramatsu, C., Takashima, T., Sakaguchi, H., Chen, X., Tajima, S., Seno, T. and Kawamura, S. (2023 Sep 13). Influence of colour vision on attention to, and impression of, complex aesthetic images. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 290 (2006): 20231332.
Melin, A. D., Veilleux, C. C., Janiak, M. C., Hiramatsu, C., Sanchez-Solano, K. G., Lundeen, I. K., Webb, S. E., Williamson, R. E., Mah, M. A., Murillo-Chacon, E., Schaffner, C. M., Hernandez-Salazar, L., Aureli, F. and Kawamura, S. (2022 Aug 31) Anatomy and dietary specialization influence sensory behaviour among sympatric primates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289 (1981): 20220847.
Munds, R. A., Cooper, E., Janiak, M. C., Lam, L. G., DeCasien, A., Surratt, S. B., Montague, M., Martinez, M., Cayo-Biobank-Research-Unit, Kawamura, S., Higham, J. P. and Melin, A. D. (2022 Aug) Variation and heritability of retinal cone ratios in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques. Evolution, 76 (8): 1776-1789..
Akhtar, M. S., Ashino, R., Oota, H., Ishida, H., Niimura, Y., Touhara, K., Melin, A. D. and Kawamura, S. (2022 Jul 22) Genetic variation of olfactory receptor gene family in a Japanese population. Anthropological Science, 130 (2): 93-106..
Wikberg, E. C., Jack, K. M., Campos, F. A., Bergstrom, M. L., Kawamura, S. and Fedigan, L. M. (2022 Jul) Should I stay or should I go now: Dispersal decisions and reproductive success in male white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 76 (7): 88..
Toda, Y., Hayakawa, T., Itoigawa, A., Kurihara, Y., Nakagita, T., Hayashi, M., Ashino, R., Melin, A. D., Ishimaru, Y., Kawamura, S., Imai, H., and Misaka, T. (2021 Oct 25) Evolution of the primate glutamate taste sensor from a nucleotide sensor. Current Biology, 31 (20): 4641-4649.e5. Correction (2021 Oct 25). Current Biology 31 (20): 4675-4676.
Veilleux, C. C., Kawamura, S., Montague, M. J., Hiwatashi, T., Matsushita, Y., Fernandez-Duque, E., Link, A., Di Fiore, A., D. and Max Snodderly, M. (2021 May) Color vision and niche partitioning in a diverse neotropical primate community in lowland Amazonian Ecuador. Ecology and Evolution, 11 (10): 5742-5758.
Orkin, J. D., Montague, M. J., Tejada-Martinez, D., de Manuel, M., del Campo, J., Hernandez, S. C., Di Fiore, A., Fontsere, C., Hodgson, J. A., Janiak, M. C., Kuderna, L. F. K., Lizano, E., Martin, M. P., Niimura, Y., Perry, G. H., Valverde, C. S., Tang, J., Warren, W. C., de Magalhaes, J. P., Kawamura, S., Marques-Bonet, T., Krawetz, R. and Melin, A. D. (2021 Feb 16). The genomics of ecological flexibility, large brains, and long lives in capuchin monkeys revealed with fecalFACS. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (7): e2010632118.
Hao, Q., Zheng, M., Weng, K., Hao, Y., Zhou, Y., Lin, Y., Gao, F., Kou, Z., Kawamura, S., Yao, K., Xu, P., Chen, J., Zou, J. (2021 Jan 20) Crumbs proteins stabilize the cone mosaics of photoreceptors and improve vision in zebrafish. Journal of Genetics and Genomics, 48 (1): 52-62.