Organization OverviewThe Funabiki laboratory is interested in the mechanisms controlling the proper inheritance of chromosomes, the fundamental process for life. Errors in this process during cell reproduction could result in diseases, such as cancers. We recently discovered that CDCA7, whose mutation causes immunodeficiency-centromeric instability-facial anomalies (ICF) syndrome, acts as a novel sensor for hemi-methylated DNA, a specialized form of the epigenetic mark. Through dissecting the molecular functions of CDCA7 and other crucial regulators of chromosomes, the Funabiki lab combines molecular biology, biochemistry, mass spectrometry, light microscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy to understand how specific structural features and problems on chromosomes are sensed and dealt