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Genome Anthropology Lab
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A lab that reads DNA from ancient bones and coprolites to trace the dispersal and adaptation of humans.
AboutAbout the lab
Tracing human history through the genome.
The Genome Anthropology Lab studies the dispersal and environmental adaptation of Homo sapiens, with a focus on ancient genomics.
The lab explores why sapiens was able to adapt to every kind of environment, including high latitudes, cold regions, and high altitudes, in the short span of about 60,000 years.
DNA is extracted from the remains of people who lived in the past, such as the Jomon people, and the base sequences are determined with next-generation sequencers.
Using Jomon genome data, the lab aims to clarify the population history of East Eurasia and the way people lived before the start of agriculture.
Key terms
- Ancient genome
- The genome information of people who lived in the past, obtained by reading DNA extracted from remains such as old bones and coprolites
- Next-generation sequencer
- An instrument that reads the order of DNA bases at high speed, processing large numbers of sequences in parallel
- Organoid
- A mass of cells grown three-dimensionally from stem cells, with a structure resembling an organ
NewsLab news
A review on the dispersal of humans from East Eurasia to the Americas was published in Quaternary Science Advances
Findings showing adaptation to cold environments based on Jomon genomes were published in Science Advances
Findings from an investigation of population history using mtDNA from Jomon human bones were published in Anthropological Science
A master's student won a poster award at the Young Researchers' Meeting on Integrated Bioarchaeology
A Project Assistant Professor won the Young Member Presentation Award at the annual meeting of the Anthropological Society of Nippon
ResearchResearch themes
The lab uses ancient genome data to investigate the routes by which Homo sapiens reached the eastern side of Eurasia and the Japanese archipelago, and then spread to Oceania and the Americas. Another research theme is how agriculture and pastoralism, which began about 10,000 years ago, affected people's lives and the distribution of genes.
*Illustrative imageGenome Analysis of Ancient Human Bones
DNA is extracted from the bones of people who lived in the past, such as the Jomon people, and their genome sequences are decoded. The lab investigates the routes by which sapiens reached East Eurasia and the Japanese archipelago.
*Illustrative imageGenome Analysis of Coprolites
DNA remaining in coprolites, or fossilized feces, is extracted and analyzed to investigate what people in the past ate and what their gut environment was like.
*Illustrative imageGenome Analysis of Ancient Soil
There are many sites where neither bones nor coprolites have been found. This approach uses the small amounts of DNA remaining in the soil of a site to try to clarify the activities of the people who lived there.
*Illustrative imageJomon iPS Cells
iPS cells are made from cells of present-day Japanese people who carry genome fragments inherited from the Jomon people. These are differentiated into neuroepithelial cells and brain organoids to investigate what biological characteristics the Jomon people had.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Genome Anthropology Lab consist of faculty members, doctoral and master's students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting researchers, technical staff, and administrative staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiroki OotaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKae KoganebuchiPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorYusuke WatanabePublications ↗
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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: “Jomon period human skull with forked tooth ablation, excavated from the Ikawazu Shell Mound” Saigen Jiro / Public domain (cropped)
- Genome Analysis of Ancient Human Bones: “Tooth-extracted human skeleton excavated from Tsukumo Shell Mound” Saigen Jiro / Public domain (cropped)
- Genome Analysis of Coprolites: “Human Coprolite from the Paisley Caves” Dr. Dennis LeRoy Jones / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Genome Analysis of Ancient Soil: “Ōgushi Shell Midden Detail” Fred Cherrygarden / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Jomon iPS Cells: “SI organoid 1” Abhimanu.pandey / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (ヒトゲノム
多様性研究室): “Japan (MODIS )” Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (遺伝学研究室(大谷研)): “Arabidopsis thaliana kz07” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (進化系統学研究室 (上島研究室)): “Euhadra peliomphala” Takahashi / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (植物進化生態学研究室): “P1000491 Petunia axillaris (Solanaceae) Flower” Magnus Manske / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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