Plenary Lecture
Second-Generation Artificial DNA Cutter for Analysis and Manipulation of Human Genome
Professor Makoto Komiyama
Life Science Center of Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance
University of Tsukuba
Japan
E-mail: komiyama@tara.tsukuba.ac.jp
Abstract: We recently developed a DNA cutting tool (Artificial Restriction DNA Cutter; ARCUT) which cuts double-stranded DNA at desired site with desired specificity. This tools is completely chemistry-based and is composed of (1) Ce(IV)/EDTA complex as molecular scissors to hydrolyze the targeted phosphodiester linkages and (2) two pseudo-complementary PNA strands. With the use of ARCUT, the whole genome of human beings (composed of 3 x 109 base-pairs) was cut at one target site. In this lecture, we present further applications of this new tool to various analytical and biological purposes. Typical examples are (1) clipping of the telomere from each of the 46 human chromosomes (choosing either p- or q-arm) and independent analysis of the telomere length of each chromosome, (2) promotion of targeted homologous recombination in human cells, and (3) clipping of a desired DNA fragment from human genome. The first-generation ARCUT thus described is further improved in terms of both the efficiency of site-selective scission and the site-specificity, through chemical modifications of the Ce(IV)/EDTA complex and/or pseudo-complementary PNA, extending the scope of the applications. Furthermore, a new type of ARCUT which selectively cuts the telomeric repeat of human beings (-GGGTTA-) will be also presented.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Makoto Komiyama graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1970, and got his Ph.D. from the same University in 1975. After spending 4 years at Northwestern University (Illinois, USA) as a postdoctoral fellow, he became an assistant professor of the University of Tokyo, and then an associate professor of University of Tsukuba. In 1991, he became a professor of the University of Tokyo. In 2012, he retired from the University of Tokyo and moved to Life Science Center of Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, University of Tsukuba. His main research area is bioorganic and bioinorganic chemistry, and the number of original papers is more than 500. He received Awards for Young Scientist from the Chemical Society of Japan, Japan IBM Science Award, Award from the Rare Earth Society of Japan, Inoue Prize for Science, Award from Cyclodextrin Society of Japan, The Award of the Society of Polymer Science, The Chemical Society of Japan Award, and SPSJ Award for Outstanding Achievement in Polymer Science and Technology, and others.