2024 Activity Report vol.3:National Institute of Genetics,
Research Organization of Information and Systems

Activity Report of Open Application Program 2024 vol.3 (Course B)

Biodiversity Resource Management in the Genome Information Era

Report from National Institute of Genetics, Research Organization of Information and Systems

　Eight graduate students and two faculty members from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) were invited to the National Institute of Genetics (NIG) of the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS) and the RIKEN Yokohama Campus for six days from 23 to 28 September 2024. The UKM and NIG have signed a second MOU already in 2023 and jointly organized an online workshop on the subject of bioinformatics and bioresources in February 2024. This year's participants were selected from more than three times the number of applicants.

　On the first day, the participants travelled from Narita to Mishima, where they explored the guesthouse and other facilities around NIG. For the invitee, it was surprising that NIG is located in a quiet residential area with many cherry trees on its campus. As many of the participants were Muslims, Halal meals (food prepared according to procedures prescribed in the Qur’an) were prepared at a nearby restaurant and the NIG canteen during their stay. The prayer rooms at NIG (and also at RIKEN) was very useful.
　From the morning of Day 2 to the morning of Day 4, we learnt about public databases (International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration), sequencing facilities and maintenance of major bio-resources (rice, fruit-fly and zebrafish) at NIG. Many subjects were discussed, and the participants could learn a lot from professors and researchers on research and career development. The database project at NIG accepts and manages information submitted from all over the world fairly; no advantage for Japanese except for the language. Similarly, the Sakura Science Program supports researchers and students from other countries free of charge. The generosity of the nation that enables such projects to be implemented seemed impressive to the participants.

Activity Report Photo 1
Invitees learn how to flower and collect seeds from 1,700 lines of 23 species collected from around the world (Sato Lab). Among the original rice species O. rufipogon, they found one Malaysian strain that has been cultivated since 1965 without dying out. The large white container behind is a motorized hood to block sunlight and regulate day length
Activity Report Photo 2
Each invitee experienced transferring flies from a Drosophila breeding bottle to a new bottle (Saito Lab). 30,000 strains are maintained using methods that have remained largely unchanged for more than 100 years. There was also a demonstration of anaesthetizing flies with CO2 to observe male and female features.
Activity Report Photo 3
A tour of the state-of-the-art equipment at the sequencing facility (Advanced Genomics Center, photo through a glass). The latest machine is equipped with a computer to make full use of AI for basecalling. Participants were surprised at the small size of the flow cell on which samples are placed and took photos with their smartphones
Activity Report Photo 4
Zebrafish mutant strains in small containers that line from the ceiling to the floor (Kawakami Lab). The entire space is designed so that reverse osmosis water is produced, minerals are added, pH is adjusted, and the water flows evenly to all containers as a single biotope. They were also amazed by the experience of observing the inside of a live fish under a fluorescent microscope

　In the afternoon of Day 4, the group moved to the Yokohama area where RIKEN is located, and on Day 5 they visited the RIKEN Yokohama nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facility and the mass spectrometer and microscope facility (GTeX Bio Manufacturing Area, Center for Sustainable Resource Science). The ultra-compact 1GHz NMR equipment with its recycling system for the liquid helium was a surprise. The surrounding magnetic field was surprisingly low too. (As a guide, I told them not to wear any metal, but it was unfounded.) Mass spectrometers and microscopes are available in Malaysia, but the high performance and their even higher price were impressive. Finally, they also attended a lecture by Leave-A-Nest Corporation on the mindset of researchers and international collaborative research and reconfirmed their curiosity-based approach to science. On the last day, they took an early morning flight back to Malaysia.

Activity Report Photo 5
The new LS-MSMS instrument installed at RIKEN for the GTeX project. As some of the members were working on fruit and mushroom metabolomics research in Malaysia, the introduction of the high-performance system was well received.

[Contact information]

　ARITA Masanori, Professor, National Institute of Genetics, ROIS
　arita<at>nig.ac.jp (Please replace with @, the at symbol)