To construct an East Asia mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of 672 Japanese individuals (http://www.giib.or.jp/mtsnp/index_e.html). This allowed us to perform a phylogenetic analysis with a pool of 942 Asiatic sequences. New clades and subclades emerged from the Japanese data. On the basis of this unequivocal phylogeny, we classified 4713 Asian partial mitochondrial sequences, with <10% ambiguity. Applying population and phylogeographic methods, we used these sequences to shed light on the controversial issue of the peopling of Japan. Population-based comparisons confirmed that present-day Japanese have their closest genetic affinity to northern Asian populations, especially to Koreans, which finding is congruent with the proposed Continental gene flow to Japan after the Yayoi period. This phylogeographic approach unraveled a high degree of differentiation in Paleolithic Japanese. Ancient southern and northern migrations were detected based on the existence of basic M and N lineages in Ryukyuans and Ainu. Direct connections with Tibet, parallel to those found for the Y-chromosome, were also apparent. Furthermore, the highest diversity found in Japan for some derived clades suggests that Japan could be included in an area of migratory expansion to Continental Asia. All the theories that have been proposed up to now to explain the peopling of Japan seem insufficient to accommodate fully this complex picture

RIKEN Structural Genomics Beamlines, BL26B1 & BL26B2 at the SPring-8, have been constructed for the structural genomics research. The main feature of the beamline is full automation of the successive data collections to maximize the beam-time efficiency. The beamline optics adopted a standard design commonly used for the SPring-8 bending magnet beamlines. Beamline instruments are operated by centralized control system through the computer network to achieve the automatic operation. The core part of the beamline development is a sample management system composed of sample changer robots for laboratory and beamline, and a networked sample database. BL26B1 has started user operation, and the automatic operation with the sample management system has been implemented at BL26B2.

No abstract

Orthorhombic crystals of hen egg-white (HEW) lysozyme were grown in a homogeneous and static magnetic field of 10 T. All crystals grown at 10 T were oriented such that their crystallographic c axes were parallel to the magnetic field direction and showed a narrower average full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve than those grown at 0 T. Rocking-width measurements were made at the BL-10A station at the Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Japan, using a high-resolution vertical-type four-circle diffractometer. Crystal perfection was evaluated using the FWHM of the rocking curve; the effects of the magnetic field on the quality of the crystals were examined by comparison of the FWHM of seven crystals grown at 10 and 0 T. The FWHMs of the reflections along the a, b and c axes decreased by 23.5, 35.3 and 27.8%, respectively, and those of other general reflections decreased by 17.4-42.2% in the crystals grown at high magnetic field. These results clearly showed that a magnetic field of 10 T improved the crystal perfection of the orthorhombic lysozyme crystals. As a result, the maximum resolution of X-ray diffraction increased from 1.3 A at 0 T to 1.13 A at 10 T. The magnetic field also affected the dimensions of the unit cell, increments being 0.2% for the a and c axes and 0.1% for the b axis, respectively. These facts suggest that the application of a high magnetic field during crystallization might result in remarkable enhancements in the diffraction power of protein crystals having magnetic anisotropy.