The 30th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar will be held on Friday, May 24. This Time, we will be welcoming Dr. Naoki Osada, National Institute of Genetics as our lecturer, and he will be speaking on “The role of natural selection and genetic drift in the evolution of human genome.”

・Date/Time: May 24(Fri.) 17:00‐18:30
・Venue: Conference Room 1(2nd Floor), Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization http://www.megabank.tohoku.ac.jp/english/info/access.html
・Title: The role of natural selection and genetic drift in the evolution of human genome
・Lecturer: Naoki Osada (National Institute of Genetics )

・Abstract: It was the medical importance of deciphering the human genome that served as a great motivator for it. It is considered that study on human genome and its diversity would realize the development of a new therapeutic agent and individualized preventative health-care. On the other hand, human genome is a product of 3.5 billion years of evolution and therefore it would be impossible to understand human genome without discussing evolution. Then, what is it that makes human genome significantly different from other creatures? Based on the population genetics and molecular phylogeny that have been developing so far, it is known that the effect of genetic drift plays a big role in genome evolution in addition to natural selection. In particular, in a group such as the human group that has a long generation time and has experienced a bottle neck in the past, the effect of genetic drift has become strong while the effect of natural selection has become relatively weak. As a result, it can be considered that harmful variations have widespread not only in the group but also throughout the whole groups due to genetic drift. These variations could be a cause of a lot of human diseases. This lecture would discuss the evolution of human genome and its direction, sharing the lecture’s study regarding human or non-human primate genome.

・Organizer: Masao Nagasaki