Many questions remain, but we propose that SENA1 is a member of an underappreciated family of proteins that act as "natural molecular lubricants". These proteins may function as biological hydrotropes, preserving the dynamic behavior of highly crowded intracellular environments.

Sena1 KO mice are embryonic lethal. RNA-seq revealed that dozens of introns in essential genes are almost completely retained. The key question was: why are only these few introns affected, while the hundreds of thousands of other introns are spliced normally?

Our preprint is now online! Sena1, a "super-disordered" protein, acts as a molecular lubricant that keeps aggregation-prone proteins with extended IDRs moving smoothly in the nucleus. A wonderful collaboration with Dr. Yuki Tomari at the Univ of Tokyo. t.co/RRrLiT1PZW

This is Coilin expression in "nuclear pockets" of spermatids. Hardly belive this is the architectural component of Cajal Bodies!

Here is our recent preprint on Cajal bodies (CBs)! CBs have long been proposed as sites for snRNA modifications, but this idea has lacked direct evidence. In this study, we generated a new Coilin knockout model and found (1/2) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Revisiting the in vivo Functions of Coilin in Mice

Cajal bodies (CBs), first identified in the early 20th century, are classic nuclear structures organized primarily by the protein coilin. Although CBs have long been implicated in snRNA modification a...

biorxiv.org

50 days free access link to the retrotransposon/evolution review! authors.elsevier.com/a/1keCScQbJF...

Our new review on retrotransposons is out! I contributed to the “antidote theory” for extremely abundant retrotransposons: their massive expansion must be accompanied by the emergence of an “antidote” system to neutralize the toxic effects of insertion events. www.cell.com/trends/genet...

Transposon–host arms race: a saga of genome evolution

Once considered ‘junk DNA,’ transposons or transposable elements (TEs) are now recognized as key drivers of genome evolution, contributing to genetic diversity, gene regulation, and species diversific...

cell.com

I hadn’t anticipated that a ‘novel’ gene could be identified using such a straightforward approach. Remarkable dedication and devotion.

Ryusuke Niwa@ryuniwa.bsky.social · 2y ago

I am thrilled that our paper, which is packed with our 10 years of data on the venom proteins of the parasitoid wasp Asobara japonica, has just been published! Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Snow festival at Sapporo.

A snowy New Year's Day

Thanks to the main organizer, Narry Kim, we are excited to host the first on-site “ASIA RNA Network” meeting (formerly ASIA RNA Club) at Seoul National University from November 3-5, 2025. Save the date!

Looking forward to enjoying the full taste of RNA! www.embl.org/about/info/c...

The expanding world of RBPs: from posttranscriptional control to riboregulation

embl.org

Fellow Genetics professors - rejoice! This is pedagogy heaven: the paradigmatic epiallele in calico cats … is built on a cis-regulatory deletion, not a coding mutation! We can teach it all off 1 paper! 1. Woo 2. Hoooo!!! H/t @lianafaye.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Molecular and genetic characterization of sex-linked orange coat color in the domestic cat

The Sex-linked orange mutation in domestic cats causes variegated patches of reddish/yellow hair and is a defining signature of random X-inactivation in female tortoiseshell and calico cats. Unlike th...

biorxiv.org

We designed MS2 and PP7 binding coat proteins that are degraded in cells except when bound by their hairpin RNAs. You can check out our pre-print here: tinyurl.com/27p7hyt9, and listen to a Google AI-generated podcast on it here: notebooklm.google.com/notebook/d71...

I’m thrilled to share a collaborative story from @Mendell_lab and Jan Erzberger labs, led by postdoc extraordinaire Xiaoqiang Zhu. We showed that in addition to their canonical decoding function, tRNAs play a key role in regulating mRNA stability during translation! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Specific tRNAs promote mRNA decay by recruiting the CCR4-NOT complex to translating ribosomes

The CCR4-NOT complex is a major regulator of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) stability. Slow decoding during translation promotes association of CCR4-NOT with ribosomes, accelerating mRNA degradation....

science.org

Two back-to-back papers in Nature comms from mylab explore the link between destabilization of the actin cytoskeleton and aberrant base excision repair - passing through nuclear actin and the actin-dependent nucleosome remodeler INO80C.

This will yields 2x mix for 800< reactions. 2 µL 2x mix 2 µL DNA mix 37ºC 5 min, 65ºC 5 min the solution is now ready for transformation. 2x mix solution is stable (-20ºC) at least 3 years in my lab!

I am too lazy to prepare the buffer myself, and here is a slightly mofied version. A) 2x mix: NEB buffer 4: 160 µL Glycerol: 1 mL NEB 10xBSA (10 mg/mL): 840 µL B) dilute Exo III (NEB M0265S) 1 in 100 with A Mix 1600 uL of A, 2 µL of B, and 50 µL ExoT (NEB 2170A)

Seamless ligation is useful but can be costly. This paper by Dr. Kitabatake, who screened mutant E. coli lacking SLiCE activity, enables ligation for less than $0.01 per reaction! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Quick and affordable DNA cloning by reconstitution of Seamless Ligation Cloning Extract using defined factors

Molecular mechanisms underlying the widely accepted Seamless Ligation Cloning Extract method were elucidated. A novel protocol was developed for quick and affordable seamless DNA cloning. Commercial ....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com