Germline specification in primates and its reconstitution in vitro

Date

2018.07.18 (15:00-16:00)

Title of the seminar

Germline specification in primates and its reconstitution in vitro

Brief bio for Kotaro Sasaki, M.D., Ph.D

Dr. Kotaro Sasaki is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Graduate School of Medicine at Kyoto University (Dr. Mitinori Saitou lab).
He is a board certified anatomic pathologist, completed pathology residency at University of Pittsburgh in 2011 and renal pathology fellowship at University of Washington in 2012. Dr. Sasaki will join the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor to start his own lab in September 2018.

Background of topic

The germ cell lineage is the most fundamental component of the life cycle of the multicellular organisms ensuring propagation of the genetic information across the generations. However, the mechanism underlying germ cell specification in primates, including humans has been unknown. By using cynomolgus monkeys as a model organism for early post-implantation development of primate embryos, we identified the origin and the comprehensive developmental roadmap of primordial germ cells in primates. Moreover, by rigorous comparison with in-vivo dataset, we have successfully reconstituted human germ cell fate in vitro from pluripotent stem cells. Our study provides the basis for the mechanistic dissection of human germ cell specification as well as the further reconstitution of the human gametogenesis in vitro.