Symposium Name: in Japanese: Sin-Seimei-Kagaku Bunya Kaitaku to Super Computer “Kei”
Title:Supercomputer system and large scale cohort in Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (in Japanese: Tohoku Medical Megabank Kikou no daikibo genome cohort to keisan inhura)
Date: 16/Sep/2014 (Tue), 14:25 to 15:10
Location: Kyushu University’s Medical facility’s Hundred Year Auditorium
Presenter: Prof. Nagasaki
Presentation Language: Japanese
URL: Official website (only in Japanese)

The 49th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar will be held on Friday, September 12.

This Time, we will be welcoming Dr. Kohda, Saitama Medical University　as our lecturer, and he will be speaking on “Comprehensive Genomic Analysis on Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Disorder”.
・Date/Time : September 12(Friday) 17:00‐18:30
・Venue : Small Conference Room 2(3rd Floor), Tohoku Medical Megabank Building
・Title : Comprehensive Genomic Analysis on Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Disorder
・Lecturer : Masakazu Kohda（Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University）

＊This lecture is transferable as a class in the medical research-related lecture course.

・Abstract : Mitochondrial respiratory chain disorder (MRCD) is one of the intractable diseases and is an inborn error of metabolism with frequent incidence of 6.2 in 100,000 infants. Abnormality of various protein involved in respiratory chain complex has been revealed as a cause of MRCD; until now approximately 150 causative genes have been found. However, some part of causative genes and the mechanism of the development still remain unknown. In the research, 6 mitochondria-related genes were successfully found as new causative genes through comprehensive genomic analysis on MRCE. Furthermore, multiple genes with unknown direct relationship with MRCD were identified as causative genes for the occurrence of phenotype in patients. Data obtained in this research can contribute to the development of the foundation of genomic analysis for MRCD; thus, high usability of the findings from the data on the understanding of genes, which have been yet remained unknown, is expected.

・Organizer : Masao Nagasaki

An article of quality control software for ultra-high-throughput DNA data was published and marked as “highly accessed” article of the journal.

Title: SUGAR: graphical user interface-based data refiner for high-throughput DNA sequencing
BMC Genomics. 2014, 15: 664 (doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-664)
PMID:25103311

This is to announce that the 49th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar planned to be held on July 25th will be postponed due to various circumstances. We are sorry for the last minute notice. We will communicate on the future schedule as soon as it is decided.

The 49th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar will be held on Friday, July 25.

This Time, we will be welcoming Dr. Osamu Ogasawara, National Institute of Genetics  as our lecturer, and he will be speaking on “The Evolution Model of Gene Expression”.

・Date/Time : July 25(Friday) 17:00‐18:30
・Venue : Small Conference Room 2(3rd Floor), Tohoku Medical Megabank Building
・Title : The Evolution Model of Gene Expression
・Lecturer : Osamu Ogasawara（National Institute of Genetics）)

＊This lecture is transferable as a class in the medical research-related lecture course.

・Abstract : There has been a hypothesis that the evolution of gene expression is the possible key to link morphological evolution and molecular evolution since 1970’s. This hypothesis has left unverified for a long time since it was difficult to obtain data; however, the emergence and prevalence of the measurement methodology of genome-wide gene expression level started enabling the study on the evolutionary changes. Until now several observations have been reported using microarrays or EST, RNASeq, but the interpretation of the results is not consistent. The possible reason for this is that no clear model on the evolution of gene expression yet exists and interpretation is made based on the analogy of molecular evolutionary model of gene sequence. In this seminar, we will give the outline of gene expression evolutionary model until today and introduce the establishment of gene expression evolutionary model that explains the past observation integrally.

・Organizer : Masao Nagasaki

The 48th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar will be held on Friday, July 11.
This Time, we will be welcoming Dr. Takashi Makino, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University as our lecturer, and he will be speaking on “Evolutionary Study of Duplicate Genes and Application to Ecology and Medicine”.

・Date/Time: July 11(Friday) 17:00‐18:30
・Venue: Small Conference Room 2(3rd Floor), Tohoku Medical Megabank Building
・Title: Evolutionary Study of Duplicate Genes and Application to Ecology and Medicine ・Lecturer: Takashi Makino (Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University )

＊This lecture is transferable as a class in the medical research-related lecture course.

・Abstract: Gene duplication is a mutation where genes are duplicated and has drawn attention mainly as the emergent mechanism of genes with new functions. It can be assumed that increase in genes with functional differentiation through gene duplication also increases robustness toward various disruption from environment. In this study, species that we already have genome information in mammals and Drosophila were focused, and it was found that the higher the percentage of duplicate genes are in genome, more variable their habitat environment was. If examining duplicate genes in genome enables vulnerability to environmental change and invasiveness in certain species, new initiative for alien species issues and organism conservation with a totally new approach will become promising. In addition, in rare cases whole genome duplication where all genes are doubled in the process of evolution occurs instead of duplication of individual genes. Whole genome duplication enhances the robustness of biological system dramatically and has contributed to the macroevolution such as prevention of extinction and establishment of spermatophyte and vertebrates. On the other hand, duplicate genes that are kept without disappearing after whole genome duplication (ohnolog) do not contribute to the robustness; thus, it is necessary to differentiate from other duplicate genes. In fact, ohnolog has strong tendency to be involved in disorders.
In this lecture, overview of gene dosage equality, unique characteristics of ohnolog, is discussed and concrete examples of ohnolog as disease-related genes are introduced.

・Organizer: Yukuto Sato, Masao Nagasaki

Prof. Nagasaki will give a lecture at the 74th Symposium of Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.

・Date : Sunday, May 25, 2014  9:00- 9:30 am
・Venue : D2001, Building #70, College of Engineering, Nihon University http://www.ce.nihon-u.ac.jp/english/access.html#top
・Title : Human Whole Genome Analysis and Big Data

The Graduate School of Information Sciences has announced the special selective admission upon recommendation for the year 2015.
More details can be found here.

Professor Masao Nagasaki and Assistant Professor Naoki Nariai presented on March 18, 2014 at Maidashi Campus of Kyushu University.

http://chromatin.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp/archives/218

The 45th In Silico Megabank Research Seminar will be held on Tuesday, February 18.

This Time, we will be welcoming Dr. Naruya Saito, National Institute of Genetics as our lecturer, and he will be speaking on “Human DNA Evolution in Japanese Archipelago: Past and Present”.

・Date/Time: February 18(Tues.) 17:00‐18:30
・Venue: Conference Room 1(2nd Floor), Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization
・Title: Human DNA Evolution in Japanese Archipelago: Past and Present
・Lecturer: Naruya Saito (National Institute of Genetics )

＊This lecture is transferable as a class in the medical research-related lecture course.

・Abstract: The approach to explain the origin of Japanese people from 2 perspectives such as Jomon-type who have lived since Jomon period and immigrants to ancient Japan after Yayoi period is called the “dual structure model.”  Based on this model, first, the descendant of the Asian group who had long settled in Southeast Asia immigrated to Japanese islands in the Old Stone Age and resulted in the development of Jomon people. Time past and when Yayoi period began, there were immigrants from Northeast Asia. They shared the same ancient population as Jomon Japanese but later went through unique changes, forming separate features such as face from Jomon Japanese. These immigrants from the continent continued to breed with the descendants of the Jomon Japanese who were the indigenous heritage. However, the descendant population of Jomon Japanese in Hokkaido did not breed with such immigrants and developed as Ainu Japanese. Also, Southwest Islands around Okinawa received a number of immigrants from the mainland; however, in comparison to the main Japanese land, characteristics of Jomon Japanese remained strong.  This model was mainly introduced by researchers such as Kazuo Haninara who analyzed human bone data, and the analysis result of genome-wide SNP data also supports the basic outline of this dual structure model. On the other hand, mitochondrial DNA study was the center of focus to directly examine DNA of the ancient human genomes until now. But recently the genome mapping team comprised of my laboratory and National Science Museum succeeded in determining a part of genomic DNA which remained in the human bones excavated from multiple Jomon shell midden sites in Tohoku area. These results clearly show that Jomon Japanese were highly unique across East Eurasian population. In this lecture, evolution of human genomic DNA of those Japanese inhabitants from past and present including the latest results will be introduced.

・Organizer: Yosuke Kawai, Masao Nagasaki

Access : http://www.megabank.tohoku.ac.jp/english/info/access.html