RIKEN ECL Research Team / RIKEN ECL Research Unit Epigenome Dynamics RIKEN ECL Research Team

RIKEN ECL Team Leader: Shihori Yokobayashi (Ph.D.)

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Research Summary

Epigenome states are dynamically regulated during the development of an individual and throughout its life, but to what extent diversity (e.g., cell-to-cell heterogeneity and individual differences) emerges during the establishment and maintenance of epigenome state is not known. We aim to understand the molecular basis of epigenome diversity and its effects on the response to environmental cues or cell fate changes through cell- and tissue-level analyses using mammals, including humans. In the future, we want to explore the link between epigenome diversity and individual phenotypic diversity in disease susceptibility and other areas.

Main Research Fields

Biology

Related Research Fields

Biological Sciences
Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacy
Molecular biology-related
Developmental biology-related
Genome-biology-related

Keywords

Human pluripotent stem cells
Epigenome Heterogeneity
Heterochromatin
Germ cells
Mammalian development

Selected Publications

Papers with an asterisk(*) are based on research conducted outside of RIKEN.

1. *Nagano M, Hu B, Yokobayashi S, Yamamura A, Umemura F, Coradin M, Ohta H, Yabuta Y, Ishikura Y, Okamoto I, Ikeda H, Kawahira N, Nosaka Y, Shimizu S, Kojima Y, Mizuta K, Kasahara T, Imoto Y, Meehan K, Stocsits R, Wutz G, Hiraoka Y, Murakawa Y, Yamamoto T, Tachibana K, Peters JM, Mirny L, Garcia B, Majewski J, Saitou M.
"Nucleome programming is required for the foundation of totipotency in mammalian germline development"
The EMBO Journal, 41: e110600 (2022)
2. *Yokobayashi S, Yabuta Y, Nakagawa M, Okita K, Hu B, Murase Y, Nakamura T, Bourque G, Majewski J, Yamamoto T, Saitou M.
"Inherent genomic properties underlie the epigenomic heterogeneity of human induced pluripotent stem cells"
Cell Reports, 37: 109909 (2021)
3. *Yamashiro C, Sasaki K, Yokobayashi S, Kojima Y, Saitou M.
"Generation of human oogonia from induced pluripotent stem cells in culture"
Nature Protocol, 15: 1560-1583 (2020)
4. *Yamashiro C, Sasaki K, Yabuta Y, Kojima Y, Nakamura T, Okamoto I, Yokobayashi S, Murase Y, Ishikura Y, Shirane K, Sasaki H, Yamamoto T, Saitou M.
"Generation of human oogonia from induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro"
Science, 362: 356-360 (2018)
5. *Kojima Y, Sasaki K, Yokobayashi S, Sakai Y, Nakamura T, Yabuta Y, Nakaki F, Nagaoka S, Woltjen K, Hotta A, Yamamoto T, Saitou M.
"Evolutionarily Distinctive Transcriptional and Signaling Programs Drive Human Germ Cell Lineage Specification from Pluripotent Stem Cells"
Cell Stem Cell, 21: 517-532 (2017)
6. *Yokobayashi S, Okita K, Nakagawa M, Nakamura T, Yabuta Y, Yamamoto T, Saitou M.
"Clonal variation of human induced pluripotent stem cells for induction into the germ cell fate"
Biology of Reproduction, 96: 1154-1166 (2017)
7. *Sasaki K, Yokobayashi S, Nakamura T, Okamoto I, Yabuta Y, Kurimoto K, Ohta H, Moritoki Y, Iwatani C, Tsuchiya H, Nakamura S, Sekiguchi K, Sakuma T, Yamamoto T, Mori T, Woltjen K, Nakagawa M, Yamamoto T, Takahashi K, Yamanaka S, Saitou M.
"Robust In Vitro Induction of Human Germ Cell Fate from Pluripotent Stem Cells"
Cell Stem Cell, 17: 178-94 (2015)
8. *Yokobayashi S, Liang CY, Kohler H, Nestorov P, Liu Z, Vidal M, van Lohuizen M, Roloff TC, Peters AH.
"PRC1 coordinates timing of sexual differentiation of female primordial germ cells"
Nature, 495: 236-40 (2013)
9. *Terranova R, Yokobayashi S, Stadler MB, Otte AP, van Lohuizen M, Orkin SH, Peters AHFM.
"Polycomb group proteins Ezh2 and Rnf2 direct genomic contraction and imprinted repression in early mouse embryos"
Developmental Cell, 15: 668-79 (2008)
10. *Yokobayashi S, Watanabe Y.
"The kinetochore protein Moa1 enables cohesion-mediated monopolar attachment at meiosis I"
Cell, 123: 803-17 (2005)

Lab Members

Principal investigator

Shihori Yokobayashi: RIKEN ECL Team Leader

Contact Information

1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama City,
Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
Email: shihori.yokobayashi [at] riken.jp