Self introduction
Profile
Keita Chagi, Ph. D. (1995-, Japan)
E-mail: peloricflowers"AT"gmail.com
Hobbies & Interests: Glowing plants, Collecting insects, Collecting field guides, Visiting remote islands, Reading books, watercolor, etc...
Favs: Plants (Orchid, Succulents, Water plants), Insects (Coleoptera), Taxonomy, Remote Islands, etc...
Countries I have lived in: Malawi (SE Africa, c. 2 yrs.), Laos (SE Asia, c. 2 yrs.), Japan (E Asia, > 22 yrs.)
Research interest
Morphological evolution in mycoheterotrophic plants
Although most land plants perform photosynthesis to fuel their activities, some of them quit photosynthesis and are depending on fungi. These plants are called mycoheterotrophic plants and evolved several times independently in land plants' history. These plants show interesting features, such as a lack of leaves, flowers that do not bloom, and a shift in mycorrhizal fungi. So far, I have focused on the morphological evolution of mycoheterotrophic plants, especially on the lack of leaves, by comparative genomics.
The effects of geographical isolation and genital morphology against speciation in insects
Both geographical isolation and changes in genital morphology are known as the key drivers of speciation, especially in insects. I focus on caddisflies (Trichoptera), which show morphological diversity in genital morphology within the "species", to assess the effects of geographical distance and morphological changes against the speciation.
Skills & Experiences
Basic Linux skills (NIG supercomputer, WSL2)
Basic biological analysis utilizing Linux system (often using Singularity)
Computer programming (VBA, R, Python, Perl)
Sampling to phylogenetic analysis (Extracting DNA, PCR, sequencing, constructing phylogenetic trees, etc.)
(De Novo) Genome assembly and genomics (Extracting Long DNA, sequencing by Nanopore, genome assembly, and further analysis)
Identification of plants. insects, and fishes (According to their taxon)
Achievements
2 original articles (peer reviewed), 5 short reports, 1 oral presentation, 5 poster presentations (1 Excellent Poster Award), 4 fundings
The full title and other information about the achievements are listed here (in Japanese)
Education
2020. IV.ｰ 2023. III. Ph. D. Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Chiba University, Japan
2018. IV. ｰ2020. III. MSc, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Chiba University, Japan
2014. IV.ｰ2018. III. BSc, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Japan