About Our Research

The functioning of the cells that make up our bodies is directed by genes. Genes can be thought of as “instructions” written in DNA, but whether these instructions are read or not is largely determined by a substance called chromatin, which is a combination of DNA and histone proteins. Chromatin changes its structure according to the type of cell and its developmental stage, controlling whether genes are turned on or off.

However, the process by which our bodies differentiate into a wide variety of cells and how chromatin is involved in this process is not yet fully understood. Our research focuses on the role that chromatin plays in determining the “fate” of cells. Specifically, we are studying how various factors, such as chemical changes in histones, the spatial arrangement of DNA, and the distance between enhancers and promoters (which act as genetic switches), combine to alter the structure of chromatin and guide cells in a specific direction.

We refer to this complex process as the “epicode,” viewing it as a postnatal “code” that influences cell differentiation and organismal development. Our goal is to decipher this code, and through a new understanding of chromatin, to bring about a major transformation in life sciences, or in other words, a paradigm shift.

Head

Makoto Tachibana
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University

服部計画研究代表による総説がZoological Science誌に掲載されました!
Nutritional Adaptation and Microbes: Insights From Drosophila
https://doi.org/10.2108/zs240057
この特集号"Environmental Adaptation in Animals"のGuest Editorも担当しました。
https://bioone.org/journals/zoological-science/volume-42/issue-1
https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.42.1

中山計画研究代表による成果が FASEB Journal 誌に掲載されました!
Proteins and noncoding RNAs that promote homologous chromosome recognition and pairing in fission yeast meiosis undergo condensate formation in vitro
https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1096/fj.202302563RR

胡桃坂計画研究代表、堀越計画研究分担による成果がNature Communications 誌に掲載されました!
Cryo-EM structures of the BAF-Lamin A/Ccomplex bound to nucleosomes
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56823-9

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Copyright © Deciphering the epicode of chromatin, which controls cell fate decisions in organisms
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