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Epigenome Dynamics (Maezawa Lab)
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A lab that focuses on the epigenome to explore how sperm and eggs are formed.
AboutAbout the lab
Approaching the mystery of the continuity of life
The Epigenome Dynamics Lab studies how germ cells such as sperm and eggs are formed, focusing on the epigenome.
The epigenome is a system that controls whether genes are turned on or off, and the state of germ cells changes through its action.
In addition to investigating how the epigenome is regulated and how environmental factors affect it, the lab aims to develop technologies for artificially editing the epigenome of germ cells and to apply them to reproductive medicine.
Big data analysis of the epigenome and gene expression is essential to this research.
Key terms
- Epigenome
- Chemical modifications attached to DNA and histones that serve as marks determining whether genes are turned on or off.
- Chromatin
- A structure formed by the assembly of nucleosomes, in which DNA is wound around histones.
- Germ cells
- Cells that become sperm and eggs. After fertilization, they can reacquire the ability to give rise to an individual of the next generation.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Germ cells are important cells that carry the continuity of life, and sperm and eggs are produced when the stem cells from which they originate change. Focusing on the epigenome and chromatin structure, this lab investigates how gene expression is regulated during that process and how the effects of the nutritional environment are passed on to the next generation.
*Illustrative imageHow germ cells are formed
During the formation of sperm and eggs, the expression of thousands of genes is regulated. The lab investigates this regulation, focusing on chromatin structure changes, which are changes in chromosome structure, and epigenome changes, which are changes in the mechanism that determines which genes are used.
*Illustrative imageMemory of the nutritional environment and its inheritance by the next generation
The lab investigates which nutrients affect the epigenome of germ cells and whether that information is passed on to the next generation. It aims to clarify how nutrients affect metabolic pathways and are recorded in the germ cell epigenome as a memory.
*Illustrative imageComprehensively reading cellular information
Using cells from mice, marmosets, and other animals, the lab investigates the factors that bring about changes in the epigenome and chromatin structure. By combining analyses of gene expression, proteins, and metabolites, it aims to clarify the whole picture of the molecules involved in germ cell formation and their relationships.
MembersFaculty
The Epigenome Dynamics Lab consists of faculty members, a Contract Assistant Professor, postdocs, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorSo Maezawa
- Contract Assistant ProfessorKai Otsuka
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Egg and Sperm” Christinelmiller / CC0 (cropped)
- How germ cells are formed: “CD117 (c-kit) stain of mixed malignant germ cell tumor” Mikael Häggström, M.D. Author info - Reusing images- Conflicts of interest: None Mikael Häggström, M.D.Consent note: Consent from the patient or patient's relatives is regarded as redundant, because of absence of identifiable features (List of HIPAA identifiers) in the media and case information (See also HIPAA case reports guidance). / Public domain (cropped)
- Memory of the nutritional environment and its inheritance by the next generation: “Мышь 2” George Shuklin (talk) / CC BY-SA 1.0 (cropped)
- Comprehensively reading cellular information: “Fluidigm C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep system” Konrad Förstner / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (がん細胞生物学
（定家 研究室） ): “Telomeres” AJC1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (応用微生物学
（荒添研究室） ): “Fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe)” Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS) / CC BY 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (植物分子生理学
（朽津 研究室） ): “Tomato Leaf Mold” Elizabeth Bush, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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