Event Date
Dr. Tetsuji Kakutani
National Institute of Genetics, Nishima
University of Tokyo
Dr. Tetsuji Kakutani is a Professor at Japan’s National Institute of Genetics and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. A leading researcher in plant epigenetics, he studies how DNA methylation, chromatin states, and transposable elements shape genome function and evolution in Arabidopsis.
His recent work addresses a central question in centromere biology: how retrotransposons become specifically inserted into centromeric DNA. His group has shown that the LTR retrotransposon Tal1 preferentially targets chromatin occupied by the centromere-specific histone CENH3, providing a mechanistic explanation for how transposable elements can contribute to the rapid evolution of centromeres.
Dr. Kakutani is hosted by Luca Comai, [email protected]. Please, contact him if you wish to meet him.