Neuro Global International Joint Graduate Program,
Tohoku University

Misako Tatehana, D1,
Graduate School of Medicine

I attended 14th Asia Epigenome Meeting (AEM)/3rd Taipei Epigenetics and Chromatin Meeting (TECM) at Taipei from Oct. 16th-18th, 2019. I did poster presentation on the 3rd day of the meeting and got many questions and comments from participants. My research is focusing on histone modification profiles in the testis and their age-related alteration, so people asked me about histone retention in sperm, genome regions in which histone modifications accumulated and levels of histone methyltransferases. I answered them using our supplementary data, and I obtained many tips for my future experiments.

I also attended the talk session and learned a lot of current hot topics about maintenance of DNA methylation during mitosis, RNA modification, enzymatic DNA methylation and oxidation in developmental control and so on. I understand various epigenetic factors are correlated each other. Although sometimes it looks easy to be altered, we need to know what is a true cause or a cue of diseases and phenotypes.

This time, there was a special talk by Robert G. Roeder who discovered RNA polymerases. It is delighted for me to meet such a researcher who discovered a molecule which I learned in high school textbooks. I had many good encounters with not only him but also other researchers. To meet Ph. D students from other country was also a good stimulation for me.

I had a lot of precious experience during this meeting. I hope I will make use of the comments and advice I obtained there, and attend the meeting again with much progress.