Tetsuo Kon, MD-PhD

I am a researcher in comparative genomics and a medical doctor (MD, PhD). I have been addressing the mysteries of the animal genome using comparative genomics and bioinformatics.

I completed medical studies at Mie University School of Medicine in 2014. During my undergraduate studies, I immersed myself in research on the developmental toxicity of small molecules on the retina using zebrafish as a model (Sasagawa*, Nishimura*, Kon*, Front Pharmacol 2016, *equally contributed).

From 2014 to 2016, I underwent junior residency training and published a case series report of Ciliated muconodular papillary tumor of the lung, along with a total of four case reports (Kon, Pathol Int 2016; Kon, Clin J Gastroenterol 2016; Kon, J Rural Med 2016; Kon, Human Pathology: Case Reports 2017).

In 2016, I joined the Graduate School of Osaka University (Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University) and obtained a PhD in 2020 for the study titled ‘Origin and evolution of the Rax homeobox gene by comprehensive evolutionary analysis’ (Kon, FEBS Open Bio 2020; Yamamoto, Kon, Cell Rep 2020). During the PhD program, I discovered asymmetric subgenome evolution in the goldfish genome and proposed a potential relationship between gene copy number changes and phenotypic diversification in vertebrates  (Kon, Curr Biol 2020). 

From 2020 to 2021, I worked as a postdoc at Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology, and performed single-cell analysis of the goldfish retinas and elucidated the gene expression evolution of duplicate genes (ohnologs) resulting from whole-genome duplication at a single-cell resolution (Kon, Commun Biol 2022). Additionally, I reported on population structure analysis of large yellow croaker (Kon, Sci Rep 2021) and the association between black body color in Zhoushan cattle and specific alleles of MC1R gene (Kon, Sci Rep 2021).

Since December 2021, I affiliated with the Simakov Lab at the University of Vienna as a postdoc. Currently, I am focusing on transposons within the genome of Hydra, which is a classic regeneration model, and conducting large-scale genome analysis using long-read sequencing and single-cell technology. I am also participating in multiple international genome sequencing projects, constructing chromosome-level genome assemblies, and aiming to elucidate the evolution of genome-wide gene regulatory mechanisms (Kon-Nanjo, Kon#, G3 2023, #corresponding authors).

Keywords: Hydra, Hydractinia, Goldfish, Medaka, Human, Comparative genomics, Stem cell biology, Bioinformatics, GWAS, Population genomics