Theory, simulation, and single-molecule experimental research on biological phenomena at the molecular level

We are conducting molecular-level theory, simulation, and single-molecule experimental research with the aim of understanding the molecular mechanism of basic biological phenomena. In particular, the main targets are gene expression control mechanisms, chromosome/chromatin dynamic structures, DNA replication/repair mechanisms, and biomolecular machine operation mechanisms. As a methodology, we employ diverse strategies, including molecular modeling, theory/simulation such as molecular dynamics method, single molecule experiments using fluorescence microscope and high-speed atomic force microscope, and theoretical analysis of measurement data.

Molecular Evolution Research

We will study biological evolution using molecular evolutionary analysis methods and molecular biology experimental methods. The main research theme is to elucidate the relationship between “evolution at the organismal or phenotypic (morphology/behavior) level” and “evolution at the molecular (nucleic acid/protein) level”. We are conducting sequence analysis on various gene families using tree-reconstruction methods such as maximum likelihood method and neighbor-joining method, and are conducting research on gene diversification by gene duplication and domain shuffling. Currently, we are conducting research on multicellularity and gene diversification of animals, and genome comparison analysis of the species of “Choanoflagellate”, the most closely related protist to animals, and of various eukaryotic species.