The Human Genome Project  in  Japan

1. June 1988. Report from Council for Aeronautics, Electronics and other Advanced Technologies
2. July 1989. Recommendation from Science Council
3. October 1989. Recommendation from Science Council of Japan
4. October 1991. Report from the Ministry of Public Welfare

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture(Monbusho) and the Science and Technology Agency(STA) are earnestly working together to promote the Human Genome Project. Because of the affect such a project will have on public welfare, and the close relationship the results will have with human diseases, the Ministry of Public Welfare has also joined forces with these ministries. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has also become involved in the project because of its interest in the development of genome projects for other living things such as rice. In order to organize research efforts towards the discovery of the human genome into a single project, a meeting was held as part of the Council for Science and Technology , which was sponsored by the office of the Prime Minister. The discussions and exchange of information at this meeting with representatives of various ministries were used to initiate the Human Genome Project.

In June 1988 a commission, Bioscience Subcommittee was set up under the Science Council. This commission discussed ways to set up the Human Genome Project at universities. In July 1989, they reported on the development of the Human Genome Program at universities (Appendix).

In addition, a feasibility study group supported by the Monbusho, led by Professor Kenichi Matsubara, Osaka University, was set up to conduct preparatory studies in human genome research for two years beginning in 1989. As a result of their research, the following proposals were made:

1. International cooperation is vital to gene mapping and the physical mapping of genes. At the same time, it is necessary for Japan to independently develop an original system of research in order to contribute to the worldwide project.
2. It is necessary to develop breakthrough techniques and systems for the analysis of DNA.
3. Since within a few years we will be faced with the problem of vast quantities of data, it is necessary to begin studies on the development of databases and systematic ways of recording, annotating and storing the data.
4. It is necessary to select several models of living organisms, other than humans, for conducting genome research. The knowledge gained from such projects would benefit the Human Genome Project as well as providing valuable data on those organisms.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has already set in motion various programs for the accomplishment of these proposals.

HGC           GSC           HGREP

HGC

The center consists of three laboratories:

The Laboratory of Genome Structure Analysis that is responsible for developing markers, DNA libraries, and methods useful for genome analysis. Currently three projects are in progress: (1) physical mapping of chromosome 21, (2) establishment of a system for analyzing the genes expressed in brain, (3) establishment of a (semi)-automated DNA sequencing system.

Another important activity at the center is related to genome informatics, developing research programs focusing on database and data analysis problems in genome research.

The Laboratory of Genome Database is working on deductive, object-oriented databases for integration of mapping, sequence, structural and other types of data.

The Laboratory of DNA Information Analysis is developing knowledge-based technologies for biological interpretation of nucleic acid and protein sequence data.

The Human Genome Center houses massively parallel processors, CM-5 and nCUBE2, in addition to standard server machines. The center provides database and computational services and, at the same time, maintains the wide-area computer network called GenomeNet. In addition, the center is developing various database tools for genome research, including those for physical mapping, genetic mapping, cDNA analysis, and small genome projects, in collaboration with researchers all over Japan. These tools will be made freely available.

The Center also organizes training courses, workshops, symposiums such as YAC cloning, DNA sequencing and sequence data analysis.

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GSC

The goal of the RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center(GSC) is to systemically analyze such molecules as DNA and proteins that form the structure of the body and sustain life.This type of comprehensive research will lead to a clariffication of the physics that underlies the life sciences and lead to the development of new research for the twenty first century.

Research at the GSC will aid the development of new technology to understand the function of important genes in the genome and their related proteins. We hope that this type of research will contribute to the creation of new industries which will in turn lead to a bright and prosperous future.

The GSC will assume an active role and work with research centers throughout the world.

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HGREP

The international consortium for human genome sequencing finished the working draft of the human genome on Jun 26, 2000. This working draft is expected to reveal various features of the human genome. For this reason, we have developed a database which gives an overview of the entire human genome structure. The database contains working draft and finished sequences which cover more than 85% of the human genomic sequences. Moreover, sequence entries are aligned along the chromosomes based on sequence similarities to STS markers, BAC-end and other entry sequences. Further, biological features, such as genes, gene functions, repeats and CpG islands, are fully annotated on these entries.

HGREP (Human Genome REconstruction Project)is a joint project between the Human Genome Research Group (Genomic Sciences Center, RIKEN) and the Laboratory of Genome Database (University of Tokyo, Institute of Medical Science, Human Genome Center).

Future works