IQB Handbook

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41ACHIEVEMENTPUBLICATIONIwasaki S, Sasaki HM, Sakaguchi Y, Suzuki T, Tadakuma H, Tomari Y. Defining fundamental steps in the assembly of the Drosophila RNAi enzyme complex. Nature. 2015 May 28;521(7553):533-6. DOI:10.1038/nature14254Izumi N, Shoji K, Sakaguchi Y, Honda S, Kirino Y, Suzuki T, Katsuma S, Tomari Y. Identification and Functional Analysis of the Pre-piRNA 3' Trimmer in Silkworms. Cell. 2016 Feb 25;164(5):962-73. DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.008Izumi N, Shoji K, Suzuki Y, Katsuma S, Tomari Y. Zucchini consensus motifs determine the mechanism of pre-piRNA production. Nature. 2020 Feb;578(7794):311-316. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-1966-9TOMARIYUKIHIDEPH.D. (2003) THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYOPOSTDOCTORAL FELLOW (2003) UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SCHOOLLECTURER (2006) INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYOASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (2009) INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYOPROFESSOR (2013)INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYODEPUTY DIRECTOR (2017-2018)INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYODEPUTY DIRECTOR (2018-)IQB / INSTITUTE FOR QUANTITATIVE BIOSCIENCES, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO●MEMBER■ PROFESSOR :TOMARI YUKIHIDE■ LECTURER :IWAKAWA HIROOKI■ RESEARCH ASSOCIATE : NAGANUMA MASAHIRO■ RESEARCH ASSOCIATE :SHOJI KEISUKE■ TECHNICAL SPECIALIST : IZUMI NATSUKO■ PROJECT ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF : KIYOKAWA KAORI■ PROJECT ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF : KOSHIBA YUKIKO■ JSPS RESEARCH FELLOW :TSUBOYAMA KOTAROPUBLICATIONPUBLICATIONost genetic information encoded by the genomic DNA is first transcribed as messenger RNAs (mRNAs), followed by translation to proteins to exert their functions. However, recent studies have revealed that cells express not only mRNAs but numerous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which act as functional molecules without being translated to proteins. For instance, small RNAs of 20–30 nucleotides long, including microRNAs, siRNAs and piRNAs, negatively regulate their complemen-tary target RNAs, thereby controlling complex biological processes. Moreover, small RNAs are utilized as a useful tool in basic biology and more recently as medical drugs. Yet, our knowledge on produc-tion and function of these ncRNA species is still very limited. We are challenging this new frontier of the RNA world by combining biochemistry, biophysics, and cellular and developmental biology. MsiRNAs (combs), a major class of small RNAs, silence their target mRNAs (cord) by cleaving (scissors) the complementary sequences via the effector complex, termed RNA-induced silencing complex or RISC (tray).