Chief Scientist Laboratories Chromosome Dynamics Laboratory
Chief Scientist: Tatsuya Hirano (Ph.D.)
Research Summary
The duplication and segregation of the genome are two of the most fundamental events in cell reproduction. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the faithful segregation of chromosomes during mitosis. By using a cell-free extract derived from Xenopus laevis (African toad) eggs, we have discovered two multiprotein complexes, condensin and cohesin, that play central roles in chromosome condensation and sister chromatid cohesion, respectively. At the heart of the two complexes lie members of a large family of chromosomal ATPases, the SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) family. Accumulating lines of evidence suggest that SMC proteins actively participate in many aspects of higher-order chromosome dynamics, including chromosome-wide gene regulation, DNA recombination /repair and meiotic chromosome segregation. The long-term goal in our laboratory is to understand how condensin and cohesin work at a mechanistic level in vitro, and how they interact with other proteins to execute their essential functions in vivo. We take multidisciplinary approaches toward this goal, including biochemistry, cell biology, structural biology and biophysics. Our research will contribute to a better understanding of human health because chromosome anomalies, such as aneuploidy and translocations, are tightly associated with tumor development and birth defects.
Main Research Fields
- Biology & Biochemistry
Related Research Fields
- Molecular Biology & Genetics
Research Subjects
- Chromosome architecture and segregation
- Molecular mechanisms of action of SMC protein complexes
- Chromosome dynamics and human disease
Selected Publications
- 1.Yoshida, M. M., Kinoshita, K., Shintomi, K., Aizawa, Y., Hirano, T.:
"Regulation of condensin II by self-suppression and release mechanisms."
Mol. Biol. Cell, 35(2):ar21 (2024). - 2.
Tane, S., Shintomi, K., Kinoshita, K., Tsubota, Y., Yoshida, M. M., Nishiyama, T., and Hirano, T.:
"Cell cycle-specific loading of condensin I is regulated by the N-terminal tail of its kleisin subunit."
eLife 11:e84694 (2022). - 3.
Yoshida, M. M., Kinoshita, K., Aizawa, Y., Tane, S., Yamashita, D., Shintomi, K., and Hirano, T.:
"Molecular dissection of condensin II-mediated chromosome assembly using in vitro assays."
eLife 11:e78984 (2022). - 4.
Kinoshita, K., Tsubota, Y., Tane, S., Aizawa, Y., Sakata, R., Takeuchi, K., Shintomi, K., Nishiyama, T., and Hirano, T.:
"A loop extrusion-independent mechanism contributes to condensin I-mediated chromosome shaping."
J. Cell Biol. 221:e202109016 (2022). - 5.
Shintomi, K., Hirano, T.:
"Guiding functions of the C-terminal domain of topoisomerase IIα advance mitotic chromosome assembly."
Nat Commun 12, 2917 (2021). - 6.
Shintomi, K., Inoue, F., Watanabe, H., Ohsumi, K., Ohsugi, M., and Hirano, T.:
"Mitotic chromosome assembly despite nucleosome depletion in Xenopus egg extracts."
Science 356, 1284-1287 (2017). - 7.
Ono, T., Sakamoto, C., Nakao, M., Saitoh, N., and Hirano, T.:
"Condensin II plays an essential role in reversible assembly of mitotic chromosomes in situ."
Mol. Biol. Cell. 28, 2875-2886 (2017). - 8.
Hirano, T.:
"Condensin-based chromosome organization from bacteria to vertebrates."
Cell 164, 847-857 (2016). - 9.
Shintomi, K., Takahashi, T. S., and Hirano, T.:
"Reconstitution of mitotic chromatids with a minimum set of purified factors."
Nat. Cell Biol. 17, 1014-1023 (2015). - 10.
Kinoshita, K., Kobayashi, T. J., and Hirano, T.:
"Balancing acts of two HEAT subunits of condensin I support dynamic assembly of chromosome axes."
Dev. Cell 33, 94-106 (2015).
Recent Research Results
Apr. 13, 2023
Uncovering the secrets of how chromosomes assemble
Jul. 21, 2017
Making do with less
Annual research report
Related Links
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Tatsuya Hirano
- Chief Scientist
Core members
- Takao Ono
- Senior Research Scientist
- Kazuhisa Kinoshita
- Senior Research Scientist
- Keishi Shintomi
- Senior Research Scientist
- Toshiharu Fujita
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Yuki Masahara
- Technical Staff I
- Yuuki Aizawa
- Technical Staff II
- Tomoko Maruyama
- Assistant
Contact Information
2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
Email: hiranot [at] riken.jp