15th March 2023
Woosang Hwang, Hiromu Yamada, Yuta Hirano and Masashi Yukawa attended the 2023 annual meeting of the JSBBA held in Hiroshima and had oral presentations (Online).
Woosang Hwang:
Analysis of the molecular mechanism of actin-dependent mitotic nuclear displacement in fission yeast
（分裂期特異的アクチン繊維による細胞核移動の分子機序解析）
Hiromu Yamada:
Novel roles of the principal microtubule nucleator γ-TuRC (γ-tubulin ring complex) in mitotic spindle assembly in fission yeast
（分裂酵母紡錘体形成における微小管重合開始因子γ-チューブリン複合体の新たな役割）
Yuta Hirano:
Regulation of microtubule cross-linking activity for mitotic spindle assembly in fission yeast
（分裂酵母におけるM期紡錘体構造の架橋制御機構）
Masashi Yukawa:
Fission yeast expressing human mitotic kinesin motor protein provides an effective platform for screening for anti-cancer compounds
（ヒト分裂期キネシン発現酵母を利用した抗ガン剤探索システムの基盤構築）
13th March 2023
Takashi Toda gave a talk at HIRAKU-Global Workshop.
The title is
[Message to HIRAKU/HIRAKU-G Researchers]
27th February-3rd March 2023
Takashi Toda attended the 14th HOPE meeting held in Tsukuba. He acted as a modulator for Dr Tim Hunt (Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 2001), whom Takashi knows for a long time as they worked in the same institute in London and shared scientific interests.
20th February 2023
Takashi Toda attended HIRAKU-Global International Symposium/Annual Conference FY2022. He acts belong to the advisory board of HIRAKU-Global and also acts as a member for several HIRAKU-Global Researchers.
17th February 2023
Dr Hiroshi Ochiai, who is Associate Professor at Division of Biological and Life Sciences Graduate School of Integrated Sciences in Hiroshima University, visited Takashi. He will move to Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University as a full professor from 1st March. He said goodbye to Takashi, who in turn sent his very best wishes back to Hiroshi.
Hiroshi, good luck in your new work place and position.
14th February 2023
4th year undergraduate students, Hiromu Yamada, Aoi Takenoya and Yuta Hirano, presented their graduation researches.
Hiromu Yamada
“分裂酵母の紡錘体形成における微小管重合開始因子の役割”
(Roles of the principal microtubule nucleator in mitotic spindle assembly in fission yeast)
Aoi Takenoya
“５型キネシンを必要としない新規紡錘体形成経路で働く因子の探索”
(Screening of novel factors involved in kinesin-5-independent mitotic spindle assembly)
Yuta Hirano
“分裂酵母におけるM期紡錘体構造の架橋制御機構”
(Regulation of microtubule cross-linking activity for mitotic spindle assembly in fission yeast)
10th February 2023
2nd year graduate students, Woosang Hwang and Sharmin Sultana, presented their master course researches.
Woosang Hwang
“M期特異的アクチン繊維による細胞核移動の分子機序解析”
(Study of the molecular mechanism of actin-dependent mitotic nuclear displacement)
Sharmin Sultana
“分裂酵母を利用したヒト分裂期キネシンの機能解析”
(Functional analysis of human mitotic kinesins using fission yeast)
10th January 2023
Registration and abstract submission have started for Pombe2023 Hiroshima (https://www.fission-yeast2023.org/), which Takashi Toda and Masashi Yukawa act as meeting organisers.
9th December 2022
Takashi Toda and Masashi Yukawa attended 20th HiHA Workshop held at Hiroshima University Phoenix International Center MIRAI CREA.
The theme of this workshop was “What can we learn about healthy aging from model organisms?” The latest findings of aging and longevity research were introduced in this workshop.
10th and 11th November 2022
3 lab members (Masashi Yukawa, Hiromu Yamada and Yuta Hirano) attended 39th Yeast Workshop held at Kochi Prefectural Culture Hall.
Masashi presented an overview of our research and Hiromu and Yuta gave both oral and poster presentations.
The titles were
Hiromu Yamada
微小管重合を促進する新規因子
Novel factors promoting microtubule nucleation
Yuta Hirano
M期紡錘体構造の架橋制御機構
Regulation of microtubule cross-linking activity for mitotic spindle assembly
12th October 2022
Sharmin Sultana (2nd year graduate student) presented her research project at the master’s interim presentation.
Sharmin Sultana
Functional analysis of human mitotic kinesins using fission yeast
“分裂酵母を利用したヒト分裂期キネシンの機能解析”
11th October 2022
Took our lab photo today. We are hopeful for the new semester!
5th October 2022
Masashi Yukawa and Woosang Hwang attended the 1st Hiroshima University’s Neuroscience Seminar at Koujin hall in the Kasumi campus, which is an exchange meeting for researchers working in the Kasumi and the Higashi-Hiroshima campus.
Woosang Hwang had a poster presentation.
Title: Study of the molecular mechanism of actin-dependent mitotic nuclear displacement
（M期特異的アクチン繊維による細胞核移動の分子機序解析）
29th September 2022
Fara Difka Afdilla from Indonesia joined our lab as a research student.
She is supported by INPEX SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION.
Photo (from the left to the right): Masashi Yukawa, Fara Difka Afdilla, Mari Sasa (INPEX), Takashi Toda
22nd September 2022
Dai Hirata (Professor at Niigata University) visited Takashi Toda and discussed research projects on the mechanism underlying ethanol-mediated lifespan regulation in sake yeast and fission yeast.
8th September 2022
Masashi Yukawa attended 55th annual meeting of Yeast Genetic Society of Japan in Okinawa (OIST, hybrid) and had an oral presentation (on-line).
Title: Study of the molecular mechanism of actin-dependent mitotic nuclear displacement
（M期特異的アクチン繊維による細胞核移動の分子機序解析）
2nd August 2022
Takashi Toda attended the 3rd HIRAKU-GLOBAL STARTER. COURSE and gave a presentation for the newly-selected HIRAKU-GLOBAL researchers. He serves as an adviser and also a mentor for this programme (https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/hiraku-g).
9th July 2022
Takashi Toda and Masashi Yukawa attended the annual meeting of Hiroshima Fermentation Society (広島醗酵会), in which Takashi and Masashi serve as president and executive secretary, respectively, of this organisation.
5th July 2022
Takashi Toda participated in the regular meeting of the HIRAKU-Global programme, which he joins as an advisory board member and also as a consortium mentor.
5th July 2022
Takashi Toda discussed the procedures and the details of the 11th Pombe international meeting 2023 in Hiroshima with Sir Paul Nurse (the CEO of the Francis Crick Institute).
30th June 2022
Dr Takayuki Koyano (古家野 孝行), a former postdoc in Takashi’s lab in LRI, UK and currently a research scientist in Shigei Medical Research Institute (重井医学研究所) in Okayama, visited the lab and discussed his current research.
16th June 2022
The 3rd preparation meeting to discuss the organisation and the procedures of the 11th Fission Yeast Meeting Hiroshima 2023, which is scheduled from 28th May until 2nd July next year, was held. Participants include Takashi Toda, Masashi Yukawa, Masaru Ueno, Kenji Kitamura and Kazunori Kume, who are organisers of this meeting.
15th June 2022
HIHA organized the 73rd HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Yasunao Kamikawa, Assistant Professor at Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University.
Speaker: Dr Yasunao Kamikawa (上川泰直 助教)
Title: 核膜ストレスとその応答メカニズム (Molecular mechanism of nuclear envelope stress response)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
10th May 2022
Sharmin Sultana from Bangladesh joined our lab as a master student.
1st April 2022
New B4 students, Hiromu Yamada (山田 大夢), Aoi Takenoya (武谷 碧) and Yuta Hirano (平野 雄大) joined our group.
Photo (from the left to the right): Takashi Toda, Aoi Takenoya, Yuta Hirano, Hiromu Yamada, Masashi Yukawa, Woosang Hwang
17th March 2022
Woosang Hwang and Masashi Yukawa attended the 2022 annual meeting of the JSBBA held in Kyoto and had an oral presentation (Online).
Woosang Hwang:
Actin-dependent movement of the mitotic nucleus linked with the spindle assembly checkpoint in fission yeast
（紡錘体チェックポイントと連動したアクチン依存的細胞核移動の解析）
Masashi Yukawa:
Complementation of fission yeast kinesin-5/Cut7 with human Eg5 provides a versatile platform for screening of anti-cancer compounds
（分裂酵母を利用した5型キネシン阻害薬探索ツールの開発）
7th-11th March 2022
Takashi Toda attended the 13th HOPE meeting (on-line) as a moderator for the Nobel laureate Sir Tim Hunt. Dr Hunt was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001 for his discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle. Takashi has known Dr Hunt for a long time; they belonged to the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute and have been working on the related topics on cell cycle control. Takashi published two papers in the past in which Dr Hunt was coauthor. Dr Hunt now lives in Okinawa and is involved in OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology). The HOPE meeting is organised by JSPS and aims to foster young researchers around the world, in particular Asia, Oceania and Africa, through interaction with Nobel prize laureates (https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-hope/index.html).
1st March 2022
Takashi Toda attended the annual HIRAKU-Global Advisory Board Meeting held on-line. He belongs to the advisory board and serves as a mentor for the HIRAKU Global researchers.
Photos (from the left, titles omitted)
Top: Jorge Tendeiro (a programme manager), Takashi Toda, Robert Mahley (the Gladstone Institute,USA), Manabu Abe (vice president of Hiroshima Uni),
Bottom: Toshiyuki Misu, Naoto Kobayashi (vice president of Ehime Uni), Misako Aida (programme representative), Professor Kiyoshi Fukui (vice president of Tokushima Uni)
21st February 2022
Takashi Toda attended the HIRAKU-Global Annual Conference FY2021 (on-line) as a panelist. He belongs to the advisory board in this programme and also serves as a mentor for the HIRAKU Global researchers.
Photo:
Top right: Professor Jorge Tendeiro (a programme manager)
Bottom left: Professor Eiichiro Suzuki (a mentor)
Bottom right: Professor Yuko Harayama (an advisory board member and a mentor)
15th February 2022
4th year undergraduate students, Masahiro Kawasumi and Jaeuk Hwang, presented their graduation researches.
Masahiro Kawasumi
“分裂酵母RNA結合蛋白質Dri1の高温ストレス条件下における機能解析”
(Functional analysis of the RNA-binding protein Dri1 under heat stress conditions in fission yeast)
Jaeuk Hwang
“分裂酵母のM期細胞核移動を制御する因子の探索”
(Screening for factors regulating mitotic nuclear displacement in fission yeast)
24th January 2022
Our new paper was published in the latest issue of Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry.
Authors: Woosang Hwang, Takashi Toda and Masashi Yukawa
Title：Complementation of fission yeast kinesin-5/Cut7 with human Eg5 provides a versatile platform for screening of anti-cancer compounds
Journal：Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 2022;86(2):254-259
DOI: 10.1093/bbb/zbab212
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34864879/
URL: https://academic.oup.com/bbb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/bbb/zbab212/6449361
11th December 2021
Woosang Hwang (1st year graduate student) presented his research project at the master’s interim presentation.
Woosang Hwang
Study of the actin-dependent movement of the mitotic nucleus linked with the spindle assembly checkpoint in fission yeast
“分裂酵母におけるM期細胞核の細胞内配置を決定する分子機構の解析”
1st December 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the seminar remotely at the Forum session in the 44th annual meeting of the Molecular Biology Meeting of Japan held in Yokohama with a hybrid format.
The speaker: Professor Yukio Fujiki (University of Hyogo) (藤木幸夫兵庫県立大学・特任教授)
The title: Organelle homeostasis and its disorders (細胞小器官ペルオキシソームの形成機構と欠損症研究: オルガネラ病概念の確立)
25th November 2021
Takashi Toda attended the alumni meeting on-line organised by Professor Yoshimi Takai.
Photo: from the left to the right
Top row: Yoshimi Takai (Kobe University, Takashi Toda, Tohru Kataoka (Kobe University)
Middle row: Tadaomi Takenawa (Kobe University), Kazuma Tanaka (Hokkaido University), Fuyuhiko Tamanoi (Kyoto University)
Bottom row: Toshiaki Katada (Tokyo University), Kunihiro Matsumoto (Nogoya Uuniversity)
All of the attendants have/had been working on oncoprotein RAS and other G-proteins, by which they know each other very well.
6th November 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 14th Workshop on visualisation techniques (on-line) organised by NPO-IIRS. The speaker was Dr Naomi Kamasawa. Dr Kamasawa works in the Florida Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience and is a team leader of the Imaging Center and Electron Microscopy facility within the institute. The title of her talk was “Prospects of Correlative light and electron microscopy in neuroscience researches (神経科学研究における光・電子相関顕微鏡法の可能性)”.
28th October 2021
A book entitiled “Encyclopedia of human genome” (ヒトゲノム事典, ISBN：978-4-910389-12-7, Isshiki publishing Co. 一色出版) will be published next month, in which Takashi Toda wrote Chapter 15.3, “Genes involved in chromosome segregation” (15.3 染色体分配に関係する遺伝子).
29th September 2021
Takashi Toda gave a seminar online to Japan Women’s University hosted by Dr Yumi Hoshino. Dr Hoshino used to work in Hiroshima University and moved to Japan Women’s University one and a half years ago.
The title: Understanding the mechanisms of cell division and chromosome segregation through microtubule functions- from basic research to its application (微小管機能から細胞分裂と染色体分配過程を理解する−基礎研究から応用まで−)
31st August-2nd September 2021
Takashi Toda, Masashi Yukawa and Woosang Hwang attended 54th annual meeting of Yeast Genetic Society of Japan (Online).
Masashi and Woosang presented their works.
Oral talk
Woosang Hwang: Analysis of the functional exchangeability between human Eg5 and fission yeast Cut7 using the fission-yeast expression system and its application for the development of Eg5 inhibitors
（分裂酵母発現系を用いた5型キネシンの機能保存性解析と阻害剤探索への応用）
Masashi Yukawa: Study of the actin-dependent movement of the mitotic nucleus linked with the spindle assembly checkpoint
（紡錘体チェックポイントと連動したアクチン依存的細胞核移動の解析）
24th August 2021
Takashi Toda attended the HIRAKU-Global starter course for the 2nd cohort of HIRAKU-Global researchers. He acts as a mentor for this programme.
7th August 2021
Dr Yuzy Matsuo (松尾祐児), a former postdoc in Takashi’s lab in LRI, UK and currently a reseasrch scientist in MiRTeL Co. LTD (a venture company founded by Prof Hidetoshi Tahara, Hiroshima University), visited the lab.
16th July 2021
Takashi Toda gave a talk in the 199th meeting of the Yeast Cell Research Society（酵母細胞研究会） (on-line).
The titile: Exploring inhibitors against kinesins with anti-tumour activity using yeast expression system and their application to clinical study (酵母発現系を用いたキネシン阻害抗癌活性物質の探索とその臨床研究)
10th July 2021
The 92nd annual meeting of the Hiroshima Fermentation Society ( https://hakkokai.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/) was held on-line. Takashi Toda serves as the president of this society. The annual meeting was followed by a series of open lectures by six alumni (graduated from Department of Fermentation Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Hiroshima University in 1991 and 1922).
19th June 2021
Takashi Toda received the 2nd shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
9th June 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 66th HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Toru Hirota, Chief scientist at Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research.
Speaker: Dr Toru Hirota（広田 享部長、公益法人がん研究会がん研究所 実験病理部）
Title: 染色体の安定性を保証する染色体分離の時空間的制御特性とその分子機構の解明 (Elucidation of the spatiotemporal regulation and the mechanism of chromosome separation that ensures chromosome stability)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
29th May 2021
Takashi Toda received the 1st shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It went well without any adverse reactions except some pain in the arm where the vaccine was injected. The second jab will be scheduled three weeks time.
19th May 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 65th HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Kazuhide Asakawa, Associate Professor at Tokyo Medical University and National Institute of Genetics.
Speaker: Dr Kazuhide Asakawa（浅川和秀准教授）
Title: 光遺伝学でALSの謎に迫る (Investigating the mystery of ALS using optogenetics)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
12th May 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 64th HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Kozo Tanaka, Professor at Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer, Tohoku University.
Speaker: Prof Kozo Tanaka（田中耕三教授）
Title: 染色体オシレーションによる染色体安定性維持機構 (Mechanisms of Chromosome Stability through Chromosome Oscillation)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
30th April 2021
A new paper was published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Authors: Masashi Yukawa, Mitsuki Ohishi, Yusuke Yamada and Takashi Toda
Title: The Putative RNA-Binding Protein Dri1 Promotes the Loading of Kinesin-14/Klp2 to the Mitotic Spindle and Is Sequestered into Heat-Induced Protein Aggregates in Fission Yeast.
Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021; 22(9):4795
URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/9/4795
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094795
21st April 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 63rd HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Fumio Motegi, Professor at Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University.
Speaker: Fumio Motegi（茂木文夫教授）
Title: 受精卵の非対称パターン化を脱構築と再構築で理解する (Understanding the mechanism underlying the asymmetrical patternization of fertilized eggs from a view point of deconstruction and reconstruction)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
5th April 2021
A new paper was published in Pathology International. This work was performed under collaboration with laboratories of Prof Wataru Yasui, Prof Naohide Oue and Prof Hideki Ohdan (Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University) and Ken-ichi Kimura (Department of Agriculture, Iwate University).
Authors: Shintaro Akabane, Naohide Oue, Yohei Sekino, Ryuichi Asai, Pham Quoc Thang, Daiki Taniyama, Kazuhiro Sentani, Masashi Yukawa, Takashi Toda, Ken‐ichi Kimura, Hiroyuki Egi, Wataru Shimizu, Hideki Ohdan and Wataru Yasui
Title：KIFC1 regulates ZWINT to promote tumor progression and spheroid formation in colorectal cancer
Journal：Pathology International 2021; 71
URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pin.13098
DOI: 10.1111/pin.13098
1st April 2021
New members joined the lab.
B4: Jae Uk Hwang and Masahiro Kawasumi
M1: Sharmin Sultana (Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sharmin stays in Bangladesh and attend classes and lab activities on-line until she can receive visa and enter Japan)
Woo Sang Hwang is enrolled in a graduate school (M1).
The photo shows our first lab meeting performed on-line.
23rd March 2021
The fourth year undergraduate students, Woo Sang Hwang and Kojiro Matsuo, have finished the undergaraduate course.
Woo Sang Hwang will be enrolled in our graduate program from April.
20th March 2021
Masashi Yukawa attended the 2021 annual meeting of the JSBBA held in Sendai and had an oral presentation (Online).
Masashi Yukawa and Takashi Toda
Actin-dependent nuclear displacement leads to escape from mitotic catastrophe in fission yeast
湯川格史, 登田 隆
アクチン依存的な核移動による分裂酵母M期カタストロフからの回避機構
19th March 2021
Takashi Toda attended 1st HIRAKU-Global International Symposium as a panelist. He serves HIRAKU Global as an advisory board member.
This symposium was held on-line.
4th March 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 62nd HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Hitoshi Nakatogawa, Associate Professor at Integrated Research Institute, Tokyo Technology of University.
Speaker: Speaker: Hitoshi Nakatogawa（中戸川 仁准教授）
Title: オートファジーによるオルガネラ分解のメカニズム (Mechanism of organella degradation by authophagy)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
19th February 2021
Takashi Toda and Masashi Yukawa wrote a mini-review in March Issue of Experimental Medicine (実験医学).
Title: Dual regulation of the MAP kinase by heat shock chaperones（熱ショックシャペロンによるMAPキナーゼ経路の二面的制御）
URL: https://www.yodosha.co.jp/jikkenigaku/book/9784758125413/
16th February 2021
4th year undergraduate students, Kojiro Matsuo and Woo Sang Hwang, presented their graduation researches.
Kojiro Matsuo
“分裂酵母を用いたヒト癌関連遺伝子発現系の開発”
(Development of advanced system to overexpress human cancer-related genes in fission yeast cells)
Woo Sang Hwang
“M期紡錘体形成に必須な５型キネシンモーターの機能解析”
(Functional analysis of Kinesin-5 motors required for assembly of the mitotic spindle)
12th February 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 61st HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Dr Ryotaro Nishi, Associate Professor at Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo University of Technology.
Speaker: Ryotaro Nishi（西良太郎准教授）
Title: 核スペックルを介したDNA二本鎖切断の修復機構 (The repair mechanism of DNA double starnd break thorugh the nuclear speckle)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
22nd January 2021
Takashi Toda hosted the 59th HiHA Seminar/Webinar by Professor Daiju Kitagawa at Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo.
Speaker: Professor Daiju Kitagawa （北川大樹教授）
Title: ヒト細胞における中心体複製機構と遺伝性疾患 (Mechanisms of centriole duplication in human cells and genetic disorders)
This seminar was performed via internet (Webinar).
21st January 2021
A new paper was published in iScience.
Authors: Masashi Yukawa, Yasuhiro Teratani and Takashi Toda.
Title: Escape from mitotic catastrophe by actin-dependent nuclear displacement in fission yeast.
Journal: iSciences 2021; 24(1):102031
URL: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31228-1
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.102031
This work was featured in Hiroshima University HP at https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/ilife/news/62954 and https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/news/62877, and also in the following three international URL sites (Eurekalert! at https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/hu-ri020321.php, Asia Research News at https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/researchers-identify-%E2%80%9Crescue%E2%80%9D-mechanism-helps-cells-survive-malfunctioning-split and Alpha Galileo at https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/204151).
