Evolutionary Functional Genomics / Systems Biology

Darwin proposed the first conclusive theory to explain biodiversity with two principles: adaptation by natural selection, and speciation. However, little is known about the genes responsible for biodiversity, due to the split between laboratory molecular biologists and field evolutionists. The key to synthesize biology is genomics: specifically, evolutionary genomics.

We are taking interdisciplinary approaches to study the molecular basis of biodiversity, and helps start the University Research Priority Program of Systems Biology / Functional Genomics. 

One of the advantages of using plants is the feasibility of ecological studies since they are immobile. The plants we study include a model species Arabidopsis thaliana, an allopolyploid Arabidopsis kamchatica in East Asia, a species-rich genus Cardamine, and Dipterocarpaceae in Malaysia tropical forests.

• Integrative research efforts at the boundary of biodiversity and global change research
  Abiven, S; Altermatt, F; Backhaus, N; Deplazes-Zemp, A; Furrer, R; Korf, B; Niklaus, PA; Schaepman-Strub, G; Shimizu, KK; Zuppinger-Dingley, D; Petchey, OL; Schaepman, ME
  CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 29 215-222; 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.04.016 DEC 2017
• Genomics meets remote sensing in global change studies: monitoring and predicting phenology, evolution and biodiversity
  Yamasaki, E; Altermatt, F; Cavender-Bares, J; Schuman, MC; Zuppinger-Dingley, D; Garonna, I; Schneider, FD; Guillen-Escriba, C; van Moorsel, SJ; Hahl, T; Schmid, B; Schaepman-Strub, G; Schaepman, ME; Shimizu, KK
  CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 29 177-186; 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.03.005 DEC 2017
• Plant trichomes and a single gene GLABRA1 contribute to insect community composition on field-grown Arabidopsis thaliana
  Y Sato, R Shimizu-Inatsugi, M Yamazaki, KK Shimizu, AJ Nagano
  bioRxiv, 320903,  DOI: 10.1101/320903 2018
• Patterns of polymorphism, selection and linkage disequilibrium in the subgenomes of the allopolyploid Arabidopsis kamchatica
  Timothy Paape, Roman V Briskine, Heidi EL Lischer, Gwyneth Halstead-Nussloch, Rie Shimizu-Inatsugi, Masaomi Hatekayama, Kenta Tanaka, Tomoaki Nishiyama, Renat Sabirov, Jun Sese, Kentaro K Shimizu
  bioRxiv, 248195 https://doi.org/10.1101/248195 2018 
• The Nagoya Protocol could backfire on the Global South
  Deplazes-Zemp, A; Abiven, S; Schaber, P; Schaepman, M; Schaepman-Strub, G; Schmid, B; Shimizu, KK; Altermatt, F
  NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (6):917-919; 10.1038/s41559-018-0561-z JUN 2018
• Agrobacterium-mediated floral dip transformation of the model polyploid species Arabidopsis kamchatica 
  Yew, Chow-Lih; Kakui, Hiroyuki; Shimizu, Kentaro K. 
  JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH, 131 (2): 349-358, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-017-0982-9 MAR 2018 Article (Details)
• Multiple hybrid de novo genome assembly of finger millet, an orphan allotetraploid crop 
  Hatakeyama, Masaomi; Aluri, Sirisha; Balachadran, Mathi Thumilan; et al. 
  DNA RESEARCH, 25 (1): 39-47, https://doi.org/10.1093/dnares/dsx036 FEB 2018 Article (Details)
• Genome assembly and annotation of Arabidopsis halleri, a model for heavy metal hyperaccumulation and evolutionary ecology 
  Briskine, Roman V.; Paape, Timothy; Shimizu-Inatsugi, Rie; et al. 
  MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, 17 (5): 1025-1036 SEP 2017 Article (Details)
• Reference-guided de novo assembly approach improves genome reconstruction for related species 
  Lischer, Heidi E. L.; Shimizu, Kentaro K. 
  BMC BIOINFORMATICS, 18: NOV 10 2017 Article (Details)

• Evolution of reproductive systems
• Self-compatibility
• Genome duplication (speciation)
• Arabidopsis relatives
• Tropical trees (Dipterocarpaceae)

• Evolutionary and ecological functional genomics (EEFG)
• Statistical genetics
• Ecology
• Molecular developmental genetics
• Systems biology