Shohei Kojima

Functional analysis of promoter element 2 within the viral polymerase gene of an emerging paramyxovirus, Sosuga virus

This study examines the role of antigenomic PE2 in Sosuga virus replication, showing it enhances minigenome activity and encodes a conserved motif in the L protein.

Mobile elements in human population-specific genome and phenotype divergence

The paper develops a tool to genotype mobile element variants (MEVs) using short-read data and identifies population-specific MEs linked to disease and gene regulation.

Virus-derived variation in diverse human genomes

The paper develops computational tools to study virus-derived structural variants in human genomes, identifying new somatic and heritable variants from retroviruses and uncovering their potential impact on gene expression and genetic diversity.

Endogenous retrovirus rewired the gene regulatory network shared between primordial germ cells and naïve pluripotent cells in hominoids

This study identifies LTR5_Hs, a hominoid-specific ERV, as rewiring the gene regulatory network shared between primordial germ cells and naive pluripotent cells through enhancer activity.

Endogenous retroviruses drive species-specific germline transcriptomes in mammals

This study identifies endogenous retroviruses as drivers of species-specific germline transcriptomes in mammals, particularly through their role in gene activation and enhancer function in spermatogenesis.