Symposia at a Glance (pdf)

Day 1 Dec. 9 (Wed.)

Day 2 Dec. 10 (Thu.)

Day 3 Dec. 11 (Fri.)

Date	No.	Session Theme
Day 1 (Dec. 9 (Wed))	1S1	Molecular and cellular biology of pluripotent stem cells
	1S2	New Phase of Proteomics to Uncover Cellular Functions
	1S3	Recent progress in the nuclear receptor biology
	1S4	Towards experimental systems biology at the organism level
	1S5	New horizons of chromosome dynamics study
	1S13	Frontiers of medical researches based on comprehensive genome analysis
	1S14	The Front Lines of Research into RNA Silencing Mechanisms
	1S15	Systems molecular neuroethology based on neural circuits
Day 2 (Dec. 10 (Thu))	2S1	Emerging Power of Epigenomics in Life Science
	2S2	Novel carbohydrate functions and disease mechanisms elucidated by gene-manipulated animals
	2S3	Autophagy and the Proteasome: Intracellular Proteolysis Saves Life
	2S4	Recent progress on concepts of nuclear architecture and the control of genome function
	2S5	Integrated Regulation of Biological Cycles
	2S13	The mechanism of stem-cell maintenance and differentiation during plant reproductive development
	2S14	Molecular and genetic approaches toward understanding behavior
	2S15	Evolution of New-Generation Molecular Biology Driven by Ultra-large-scale DNA Sequencing
Day 3 (Dec. 11 (Fri))	3S1	New Insights in Omics Research using Next Generation Sequencers
	3S2	Systems biology of cellular signaling
	3S3	Molecular biology of asymmetrical cell division
	3S4	Molecular dynamism of protein traffic and organelle biogenesis
	3S5	A New Developments of Evolutionary Genomics
	3S13	Centromeres and Kinetochore-Microtubule Interactions
	3S14	Molecular basis for development and plasticity in the nervous system
	3S15	Biological clocks, the inputs and outputs

1S1
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 1(Conference Center 1F,Main Hall)

Molecular and cellular biology of pluripotent stem cells

Organizers: Hitoshi Niwa (RIKEN), Norio Nakatsuji (Kyoto Univ.)

Pluripotency is the cellular ability to give rise to all cell types. Several loss-of-function studies revealed the essential roles of the transcription factors such as Oct3/4 and Sox2 and their dominant function to establish pluripotency were disclosed by the generation of iPS cells. However many other molecular mechanisms such as growth factor signaling chromatin dynamics and regulation of cell survival are known to be involved in the maintenance of pluripotency. To achieve the complete management of pluripotent stem cells as a tool to generate the functional differentiated cell types as well as the genetically-engineered cells and animals it is important to coordinate the knowledge about pluripotency obtained from the various molecular and cellular biological view points.

1S2
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 2(Conference Center 3F,301)

New Phase of Proteomics to Uncover Cellular Functions

Organizers: Yasushi Ishihama (Keio Univ.), Jesper V Olsen (Univ. of Copenhagen)

Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics open new phases in cell biology as well as the clinical and pharmaceutical applications and journals such as Science and Nature Methods therefore highlighted ‘quantitative proteomics’ as one of the most striking scientific fields in 2008. Especially significant progress has been made in analyzing post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation and glycosylation in various types of cells. Together with stable isotope labeling techniques the current analytical platforms allow quantitative proteomics to cover the entire proteome expressed in yeast for instance. Based on these achievements state-of-the-art proteomics has been applied to wide range of researches such as phosphorylation dynamics profiling of cell surface glycosylation protein expression dynamics induced by microRNAs and so on. Proteomics has also been recognized as a tool for drug discovery as well as biomarker discovery. In this symposium two international young leaders in this field as well as three distinct Japanese scientists are invited to cover the wide range of topics and will introduce the frontlines as well as their recent achievement in this field.

1S3
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 3(Conference Center 3F,302)

Recent progress in the nuclear receptor biology

Organizers: Shigeaki Kato (Univ. of Tokyo)

Nuclear receptors are ligand-dependent transcriptional factors, and their transcriptional controls of target genes transmit signals of the fat-soluble ligands like steroid hormones into many aspects of biological events. The impact of nuclear receptor function has been also demonstrated in serious pathological states. Their transcriptional controls require chromatin reorganization and histone modifications. Recently, a number of epigenetic regulators supporting nuclear receptors have emerged, and histone modifying enzymes other than histone acetylases/deacetylases have been identified as transcriptional co-regulators. Such regulators appear to mediate the other intracellular signalings, generating negative and positive cross-talks of nuclear receptor-mediated signalings with the other intracellular signaling pathways. From the biological impacts of nuclear receptor-mediated signal pathways, nuclear receptor proteins are drawing much attention as drug target molecules. In this symposium, the rapid progress of the related fields will be overviewed, and recent findings describing of nuclear receptor functions will be presented by top runner scientists in the world.

1S4
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 4(Conference Center 3F,303)

Towards experimental systems biology at the organism level

Organizers: Hiroki Ueda (RIKEN), Ko Kobayakawa (OBI)

Systems Biology is a natural extension of molecular and cellular biology and can be defined as "biology after the identification of key gene(s)" beginning with the comprehensive identification and quantitative analysis of individual components and leading to the ability to control systems toward the desired state and to design new ones. Systems Biology at the molecular-to-cellular level has been emerged and applied to some questions of molecular systems in cells. It is now high time to take a next step toward Systems Biology at the Organism level. In this symposium we will discuss about the opportunities and challenges to this end.

1S5
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 5(Conference Center 3F,304)

New horizons of chromosome dynamics study

Organizers: Hiroyuki Araki (Natl. Inst. of Genetics)

In the cell cycle chromosomes replicates and are segregated into daughter cells. Chromosomes also recombine and are repaired when they are damaged. Till now these processes have been studied extensively and some of them are revealed in a molecular level. However still we have many things to be elucidated and new problems emerge. For example while we believed that chromosomes are shuffled during cell division it is revealed that asymmetric segregation takes place in at least germ cells. In this symposium we will have five topics which are recently focused; chromosome structure and replication timing during development relationships between replication and the cell cycle checkpoints cohesion of chromosomes orchestration of repair and checkpoints and asymmetric segregation of chromosomes. We will further discuss future direction of this field.

1S13
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 13(Conference Center 5F,501)

Frontiers of medical researches based on comprehensive genome analysis

Organizers: Shoji Tsuji (Univ. of Tokyo), Daniela S. Gerhard (Natl. Cancer Inst.)

The recent advances in technologies for genome analysis are quite remarkable including genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using DNA microarrays and re-sequencing of genome using next-generation DNA sequencers. It is expected that the discovery of genes associated with the pathogenesis of various diseases will be dramatically accelerated with such technological advances. In this symposium focusing on cancer common diseases (diabetes mellitus) and neurological disorders we will have exciting presentations by leading researchers in the field of genome analyses. Through their talks and discussion we will learn the immeasurably large impact of the novel genome analysis technologies for the research on disease mechanisms. Moreover we should be able to find out the frontiers of medical research and get clues for future development in the field.

1S14
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 14(Conference Center 5F,502)

The Front Lines of Research into RNA Silencing Mechanisms

Organizers: Mikiko C. Shiomi (Keio Univ.), Jun-ichi Nakayama (RIKEN)

Gene silencing mechanisms that are mediated by small RNAs of 20-30 nucleotides are collectively called RNA silencing. The representative mechanism is RNA interference or RNAi. RNA silencing is highly conserved in various species including yeast fish flies plants and even mammals. Such strong evolutional conservation implies that RNA silencing has an intrinsically important physiological function in living creatures. Indeed it has been shown that RNA silencing is needed for vital biological processes such as development apoptosis neural patterning and innate immune system. Since the discovery of RNAi in 1998 various kinds of endogenous small RNAs have been identified including microRNAs (miRNAs) endogenous small-interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs) and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). All these small RNAs function in RNA silencing by specifically associating with members of Argonaute family of proteins and guiding them to their target genes. However schemes of gene expression regulation that different small RNA classes guide are diverse. They also show differences in the proteins required for their production pathways. In this symposium we highlight diverse RNA silencing pathways in both vertebrates and invertebrates. The main aim of the symposium is to reassess of the complexity and the ingenuity of RNA silencing mechanisms in a variety of organisms. From this we hope to realize new idea for advancing research in the RNA silencing or even other fields.

1S15
December 9 (Wed), 9:00-11:30
Room 15(Conference Center 5F,503)

Systems molecular neuroethology based on neural circuits

Organizers: Yuichi Iino (Univ. of Tokyo), William R. Schafer (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

Most animal behaviors are based on the functions of genes but there is a large gap between genes and animal behaviors in our current understanding. However recent advancement of molecular biology and other fields of science are starting to make it possible to fill in the gap. In this symposium we will survey the current status of this rising field of science and discuss the possible strategies for future advancement in our understanding of animal behavior.

2S1
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 1(Conference Center 1F,Main Hall)

Emerging Power of Epigenomics in Life Science

Organizers: Hiroyuki Sasaki (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Yong-Joon Kim (Yonsei Univ.)

With the recent advances in epigenomics analysis technologies using microarrays and next generation DNA sequencers it has now become possible to gain detailed and genome-wide pictures of epigenetic modifications of various cell types under normal and disease conditions. The epigenomics data obtained in this way are now enabling us to identify previously unknown features of pluripotential stem cells and cancer cells and beginning to unravel epigenetic mechanisms of various biological pathways and phenomena. This symposium focuses on the frontline of epigenomics studies and seeks for the future direction of epigenomics.

2S2
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 2(Conference Center 3F,301)

Novel carbohydrate functions and disease mechanisms elucidated by gene-manipulated animals

Organizers: Koichi Furukawa (Nagoya Univ.), Shinobu Kitadume (RIKEN)

Glycosylations in glycoproteins play roles in intracellular targeting addition of new functions or switching of proteins. They are also involved in the regulation of signaling forming molecular complexes on the cell membrane. In particular recent progress in the analyses of gene-modified animals of “glyco-genes” responsible for the synthesis and metabolism of carbohydrate chains has allowed us to investigate and clarify novels functions of sugar chains that have never been anticipated 20 years ago. Moreover molecular mechanisms of involvement of particular carbohydrate structures in diseases such as cancers infection/inflammation neurodegeneration and metabolic syndrome have been clarified based on the studies with cells and tissues derived from the gene-modified animals. These things might indicate that glycobiology has entered into “new dimension”. In this symposium newest information on glycobiology will be presented and future scope will be discussed by inviting investigators showing outstanding progress.

2S3
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 3(Conference Center 3F,302)

Autophagy and the Proteasome: Intracellular Proteolysis Saves Life

Organizers: Tamotsu Yoshimori (Osaka Univ.)

In the end of last century biologist realized that degradation is critical for life as well as synthesis. Autophagy and the proteasome system are major intracellular protein degradation pathways and the recent advancement in the field has unraveled their unexpected pleiotropic roles. Autophagy degrades cytoplasmic materials by forming autophagosomes and its fusion with lysosomes. This bulk degradation process contributes to survival during starvation cytoplasmic renewal organelle turnover elimination of intracellular aggregate-prone proteins and pathogens innate and acquired immunity programmed cell death aging etc. The ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis by the proteasome also serves a diverse array of cellular processes including cell-cycle regulation DNA repair apoptosis signal transduction and protein quality control by catalyzing selective degradation of short-lived regulatory proteins and damaged proteins. Recently it has been reported that the both degradation pathways are profoundly related in pathophysiology of various human diseases including tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. Despite their importance mechanisms in which their function is regulated remain elusive. The contributors to this symposium were chosen because they have shed a new light on molecular machinery and role of autophagy and the proteasome system.

2S4
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 4(Conference Center 3F,303)

Recent progress on concepts of nuclear architecture and the control of genome function

Organizers: Masahiko Harata (Tohoku Univ.), Susan Gasser (Friedrich Miescher Inst.)

Genome function is governed by both the organization of chromatin and the spatial arrangement of chromatin within the cell nucleus. In addition to local alterations in chromatin structure the spatial organization of the nucleus is altered during cell differentiation and development. The nucleus is a dynamic organ that is functionally compartmentalized. Chromatin is spatially arranged in the compartments and forms various functional structures. Recent studies have indicated that the nuclear envelope including the nuclear membrane lamins and nuclear pore complex plays important roles in genome function. However information about nuclear architecture including the molecular composition and dynamics of structures inside the nucleus is limited. To understand genome functions such as epigenetic gene regulation it is now important to review our concepts of nuclear architecture in the light of recent observations. The organizers and speakers expect that concepts of nuclear architecture could be advanced through active discussion among the participants.

2S5
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 5(Conference Center 3F,304)

Integrated Regulation of Biological Cycles

Organizers: Hisao Masai (Tokyo Metro. Inst. of Med Sci.) , Hajime Tei (Kanazawa Univ.)

Life on earth has been under the influence of earth rotation and revolution ever since its birth. Thus the biological cycles must be deeply rooted in the biological systems of all the lives on this planet. Cell cycle is one of the most intensively studied biological cycles. Its regulation is intimately related to the growth and differentiation of cells and malfunctions of this system has been shown to be related to generation of numerous diseases including cancer. Circadian rhythm is also a well known biological cycle which is observed from single cell baterium to human. Metabolic cycle is observed in yeasts grown under nutrient-limited conditions causing alteration between glycolytic and respiratory metabolism. Recent results strongly suggest the links between different biological cycles. Most notably factors commonly involved in circadian regulation and cell cycle/ DNA damage response control have been identified indicating the coupling of these two cyclic events. More recently the synchronous coupling between the metabolic and cell cycles and a critical role of a checkpoint kinase in this synchrony were reported. These results suggest the presence of a mechanism responsible for coordinated regulation of various biological cycles. In this symposium we would like to discuss the mechanisms of integrated regulation of various biological cycles and how this might impact on fundamental understanding of biological oscillations in lives on earth and potentially on development of novel strategies for treatment of various diseases.

2S13
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 13(Conference Center 5F,501)

The mechanism of stem-cell maintenance and differentiation during plant reproductive development

Organizers: Ken-Ichi Nonomura (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Takashi Araki (Kyoto Univ.)

During early stages of reproductive development plant stem cells in the shoot apical meristem generate inflorescence and floral organs in which germ cells are differentiate and fertilization is finally achieved. These processes are controlled by complicated gene networks. This symposium will focus on the genetic mechanism controlling a series of early events in plant reproduction: maintenance and termination of reproductive meristem and consequent germ-cell initiation.

2S14
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 14(Conference Center 5F,502)

Molecular and genetic approaches toward understanding behavior

Organizers: Tsuyoshi Koide (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Abraham Palmer (Univ. of Chicago)

In this session we will explore molecular and genetic approaches to understanding behavior. In recent years a variety of powerful approaches have been used to ask fundamental questions about how the nervous system controls behavior. In addition the immense variability that is observed within a species is partially due to genetic variability; understanding which genes influence specific normal and pathological behaviors is a major goal of behavioral genetics. This session will feature 6 talks that demonstrate how organisms ranging from invertebrates to humans can be used to address these questions. Integration of animal models with studies of human diseases is one goal however we also hope to obtain fundamental insights into the genetic architecture of behavior. We hope to stimulate an intense discussion of this topic by presenting recent findings as well as to provide a sense of the way forward.

2S15
December 10 (Thu), 9:00-11:30
Room 15(Conference Center 5F,503)

Evolution of New-Generation Molecular Biology Driven by Ultra-large-scale DNA Sequencing

Organizers: Asao Fujiyama (Research Org. of Information and Systems / Natl. Inst. Of Genetics), Sumio Sugano (Univ. of Tokyo)

New-generation DNA sequencers have opened up new windows of life science to provide genomic view of life systems to researchers through their vast productivity of DNA sequences and the relevant information. Because of this ability these machines are now used for individual genome sequencing and exhaustive mRNA analysis. In addition they also provide genome-wide analysis of DNA modifications which is coupled to epigenome or aging nucleosome distributions or many ncRNAs On the other hand the new technology is also demanding for computational power and informatics to the users because they produce tens of millions of sequence reads (>several Giga ntds) per single run. and additional Tera-bite order graphic files during the operation. This symposium is intended to provide the audience about basics of new-generation sequencing and recent advance of genome-based life sciences including informatics studies.

3S1
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 1(Conference Center 1F,Main Hall)

New Insights in Omics Research using Next Generation Sequencers

Organizers: Yoshihide Hayashizaki (RIKEN), Harukazu Suzuki (RIKEN)

Genome science has recently advanced greatly because the development of next generation sequencers has enabled us to generate a huge amount of data very quickly at reasonable cost. The purpose of this symposium is not to introduce the next generation sequencers but more to focus on the promises of advanced research using these instruments which is now a very hot research area. Omics Science Center will discuss transcriptome analysis; promoter research and transcription regulation research achieved using deepCAGE technology as a part of FANTOM4 will be presented. Recent large scale sequencing analysis of small RNA will also be introduced and recent advances in large scale genome sequencing analysis and ChIP-seq analysis will be presented. At the end of the presentations we will have a perspective of the research and Q&A.

3S2
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 2(Conference Center 3F,301)

Systems biology of cellular signaling

Organizers: Shinya Kuroda (Univ. of Tokyo), Michael Stumpf (Imperial College London)

Cellular signaling regulates various biological functions and analyzing the dynamics of such cellular signaling is essential for understanding the biological processes. The same cellular signaling can regulate cellular process in a deterministic manner where behaviors of single cells are the same as those of an average of a mass population of cells and in a stochastic manner where behaviors of single cells is the different from those of an average of a mass population of cells including an all-or-none process. Such regulatory difference will shed light on the hidden properties and mechanisms of the dynamics of cellular signaling. In this symposium we will focus on both experimental and theoretical studies of the molecular and biophysical mechanisms underlying stochastic signaling processes in cellular systems.

3S3
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 3(Conference Center 3F,302)

Molecular biology of asymmetrical cell division

Organizers: Takehiko Kobayashi (Natl. Inst. of Genetics)

Asymmetrical cell division is commonly observed during development in multi cellular organisms. Thanks to this cell division the organisms can get many different cell types and establish complicated structures. Recent studies show that asymmetrical cell division is also seen even in unicellular organisms such asyeast and E. coli. In these organisms the division is related to extension of lifespan. Moreover in addition to proteins RNA and organelles it is found that DNA (certain plasmids and chromosomes) are localized asymmetrically to one half of the cell. In this symposium we will introduce and discuss about the molecular mechanism of asymmetrical cell divisions observed in various organisms.

3S4
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 4(Conference Center 3F,303)

Molecular dynamism of protein traffic and organelle biogenesis

Organizers: Yukio Fujiki (Kyushu Univ.), Ari Helenius (ETH Zurich)

Subcellular compartments called organelles have unique protein compositions yet protein synthesis only occurs mostly in the cytosol and a little in mitochondria and chloroplasts. How are these proteins transported where they need to be located? The first steps are targeting to an organelle and efficient translocation across its limiting membrane. How are the diverse sequences of proteins recognized for translocation by the transport systems/machineries? Are they translocated as linear polypeptide chains or after folding? What are the proteins and the lipid environment that catalyze the protein transport? How is the protein translocation coordinated with its synthesis and folding? How are the partially translocated transmembrane proteins released into the lipid bilayer? Furthermore during the cell cycle each organelle must double in size divide and be delivered to its proper location in the daughter cells. How are such events accomplished and regulated? We address here molecular mechanisms underlying such fascinating as well as fundamental issues.

3S5
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 5(Conference Center 3F,304)

A New Developments of Evolutionary Genomics

Organizers: Takashi Gojobori (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Norihiro Okada (Tokyo Inst. Of Tech.)

Thanks to the advancements of nucleotide sequencing technologies it has become possible to produce not only a tremendous number of genome sequences for various organisms but also a wide spectrum of molecular information such as transcripts DPI (DNA-Protein Interaction) PPI (Protein-to-Protein Interaction) epigenomic data and metagenomic data. This provides us with a unique and great opportunity of studying evolutionary mechanisms of unknown and important phenomena from the viewpoint of comparative genomics. Here we would discuss a number of topics that can be studied most effectively by comparative genomics.

3S13
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 13(Conference Center 5F,501)

Centromeres and Kinetochore-Microtubule Interactions

Organizers: Tatsuo Fukagawa (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Iain M. Cheeseman (Whitehead Inst /MIT)

Faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis is essential for the accurate transmission of genetic material. To facilitate this each replicated sister chromatid assembles a kinetochore on centromeric DNA which forms a dynamic interface with microtubules from the mitotic spindle. In recent years multiple conserved kinetochore proteins have been identified and characterized in diverse eukaryotic organisms using a combination of approaches. However it is still not fully understood how the kinetochore interacts with chromosomal DNA builds this extensive macromolecular structure interacts with microtubules from the spindle apparatus and is precisely regulated during cell division. In this symposium speakers will discuss recent progress on centromere biology including the molecular regulation of kinetochore assembly and kinetochore-spindle interactions during mitosis or meiosis. We look forward to an active and stimulating discussion in this session to impact the future direction of this field.

3S14
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 14(Conference Center 5F,502)

Molecular basis for development and plasticity in the nervous system

Organizers: Kazuo Emoto (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Kang Shen (Stanford Univ.)

The last decades in neuroscience have seen major progress in the cellular and molecular understanding of the nervous system. Major advances have occurred in our understanding of the molecular and genetic determination of building neuronal pathways including neural differentiation migration process formation and axon guidance. In comparison less is understood about the molecular mechanisms that regulate the later events such as how neurons choose their synapse partners among contacting cells how neurons remodel their connectivity in response to the environment and to neuronal activity and how neurons maintain their unique wiring through the life. Recent advances in the genetic and imaging techniques have been making it possible to visualize and manipulate the whole processes in neural development and plasticity thus providing big opportunities to tackle the unsolved issues. This symposium will look at various aspects of neural development and plasticity with the aim of further understating how individual neurons can be integrated into a functional neural circuits.

3S15
December 11 (Fri), 9:00-11:30
Room 15(Conference Center 5F,503)

Biological clocks, the inputs and outputs

Organizers: Yumiko Saga (Natl. Inst. of Genetics), Hitoshi Okamura (Kyoto Univ.)

The biological clock regulates periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms in which the most important one is the circadian rhythm a roughly 24 hour-cycle shown in nearly all organisms and that affects many biological and physiological responses. However the variations of the timing and duration of biological activity in living organisms occur for many essential biological processes. For example segmentation clock involved in the somite formation is functional only during embryogenesis and the duration is variable depending on animal species. In this symposium we focus on two distinct clock systems circadian clock and segmentation clock to further extend their understandings by exchanging the conceptual framework. We discuss the basic negative feed-back mechanisms involved in the oscillatory gene regulations in both systems and mechanisms to translate the clock information into the physiological output events. We expect that interdisciplinary discussions will provide a good opportunity to elicit and stimulate new collaborative works and engagement of young investigators in this field.