Analyses on mammalian-specific genomic function

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23221010
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Genome biology
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: ISHINO Fumitoshi 東京医科歯科大学, 難治疾患研究所, 教授 (60159754)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KANEKO Tomoko (ISHINO Tomoko) 東海大学, 健康科学部, 教授 (20221757)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KOHDA Takashi 東京医科歯科大学, 難治疾患研究所, 准教授 (60211893) ; ONO Ryuichi 東京医科歯科大学, 難治疾患研究所, 助教 (10401358)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: レトロトランスポゾン / 獲得遺伝子 / 哺乳類 / 胎盤 / 脳機能進化 / ゲノムインプリンティング / リプログラミング / 能動的脱メチル化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To elucidate "mammalian-specific epigenetic functions", we addressed two issues. From a viewpoint of mammalian-specific genetics, we analyzed biological functions of LTR retrotransposon-derived genes and demonstrated that Sirh7/Ldoc1 plays an essential role in differentiation and maturation of all types of placental cells, thereby contributing to the regulation of gestation and parturition in mice and also that Sirh11/Zcchc16 plays an important role in cognitive function, such as attention, impulsivity and space memory via regulation of noradrenaline levels in prefrontal cortex. From a viewpoint of mammalian-specific epigenetic, we demonstrated that active DNA demethylation mechanism plays an important role in imprinting memory erasure in primordial germ cells.

Free Research Field

分子生物学、分子発生学、エピジェネティクス