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Siomi Lab
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A lab investigating the RNA mechanisms that silence transposons.
AboutAbout the lab
The power of small RNAs to protect the genome
The Siomi Lab studies the RNA-based mechanisms that silence transposons in germline tissues.
Transposons are sequences that move around the genome, and when they transpose in germ cells, they damage the germline genome.
At the core of their silencing are piRNAs, a class of short RNAs, and the PIWI proteins that piRNAs guide.
Using germ cells from Drosophila, silkworms, and mammals, the lab works to uncover these mechanisms.
Key terms
- Transposon
- A fragment of DNA that can move around the genome. Many remain in the human genome as well
- piRNA
- A short RNA that functions in germline tissues. It guides PIWI proteins to suppress the activity of transposons
- Chromatin
- The way DNA is packaged inside the cell, wound around proteins
NewsLab news
Doctoral student receives Excellence Award at the Annual Meeting of the RNA Society of Japan
Paper published on the mechanism by which Morc1 targets specific transposons
Chapter on fetal male germ cells published in an e-book
Review on the regulation of transposon expression in mammals published
Review on competition and coexistence between hosts and transposons published
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies how transposons are silenced in germline tissues from the perspective of RNA biology. It aims to clarify how genome stability in germline tissues is maintained and how this contributes to the survival of the species.
*Illustrative imageHow piRNAs are produced
The lab investigates how piRNAs, the core of transposon silencing, are biosynthesized, using biochemical and cell biological analyses with Drosophila and silkworms as model organisms.
*Illustrative imageHow PIWI mediates silencing
piRNAs guide PIWI proteins to transposons by using sequences they can base-pair with as a cue. The lab analyzes how PIWI represses transposon expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.
*Illustrative imageNovel regulation in mammals
In mammalian germ cells, the lab has discovered a new, piRNA-independent mechanism of transposon regulation and the chromatin reprogramming driven by it, and is focused on elucidating the full picture of this mechanism.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Siomi Lab are faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral and undergraduate students, and technical staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorSiomi MikikoPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKeita MiyoshiPublications ↗
- Assistant Professor平形 樹生
- Assistant ProfessorYurika NambaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Drosophila melanogaster - side (aka)” André Karwath aka Aka / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- How piRNAs are produced: “Silkworm Emerging Larva cropped” B kimmel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How PIWI mediates silencing: “Model of Nucleosome Array” Rkott / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Novel regulation in mammals: “House mouse” Unknown author
（米国NIH の 画像） / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (Sanada Lab): “Synapsin and CamK2 positive neurons” ManuelSchottdorf / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Inflammation and Immunology Lab (Toyama-Sorimachi Lab)): “Macrophage ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Uemura Lab): “Nanopore Sequencing ( )” National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) from Bethesda, MD, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takeuchi Lab): “Mouse olfactory bulb @ 20x ( )” Jason Snyder from Washington, DC, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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