Introduction

The NIG Director

Yuji Kohara　Director-General

　The National Institute of Genetics (NIG) was established in 1949 as the central institute to study various aspects of genetics. It was reorganized in 1984 as an inter-university research institute to promote collaborations with researchers at universities. Since 1988, NIG has been participating in graduate education as the Department of Genetics of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI). NIG also serves as a center for various genetic resources such as mutant strains, clones and vectors, and houses DDBJ, the DNA Data Bank of Japan, and a DNA sequencing center.

The history of NIG overlaps the period of a revolution in the field of Genetics. Genetics is no longer a discipline to study the rules and mechanisms of heredity, but has become the basis for all fields of life science. Molecular techniques now allow us not only to decipher the entire genome sequence of organisms including humans, but also to understand the details of higher biological phenomena: cell differentiation, morphogenesis, brain function, and evolution --- the history of life itself. Currently, 39 research groups are actively performing pioneering and cutting-edge researches in these fields at NIG.

Recent generation of massive information on biological systems and their environment calls for new directions in life sciences, such as bioinformatics, system-level analysis, and theoretical approaches to extract knowledge from databases. In particular, so-called the next generation DNA sequencing technology will revolutionize a wide range of life science. To this end NIG sets up the facilities for the high-throughput DNA sequencing and massive data analysis, which are used for collaborations in the research community. NIG has collected and developed various bioresources (mouse, rice etc.) from wild population for long time, which are now excellent targets in the new genome era to understand the mechanisms and its evolution and diversity of life.

 We would appreciate your continuous support and encouragement to NIG, and welcome your comments and suggestions on our research activities and endeavors.

 Yuji Kohara　　 Director-General