Members
Kohta YOSHIDA
Naoko FUJITO
Yuuki ISHITA
Research Focus
The genetic causes and susceptibility to brain disorders are encoded in the genome sequence. Recent advancements in sequencing technology give easy access to an individual's genome sequence. However, understanding the "meaning" of this genome sequence is extremely challenging. One reason for this is that the genome sequence is not like a book written all at once but formed over long periods of evolutionary time through events such as mutations, recombination, selection, introgression, and genetic drift. Furthermore, the diversification of the genome through these changes contributes to differences in susceptibility to diseases among individuals. Evolutionary genomic biology aims to elucidate how these evolutionary events occur and to reveal the principles of genome diversification using model organisms such as nematodes. Applying this knowledge to the analysis of the genetic background from which disease-causing mutations arise, we aim to uncover the origins of brain diseases.
Examples of study system in our laboratory