CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics

KHAITOVICH Philipp

2018-11-02 | | 【Print】

Dr. KHAITOVICH Philipp was Max Planck Group Leader at PICB, Shanghai, China from 2006 to 2012. From 2012 to 2017, he was professor, director at CAS-MPG partner institute for computational biology, CAS,China. He is Max Planck Society Fellow at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany from 2013. He joined ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China as Professor from 2013. He is professor at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology,Moscow,Russia from 2014. From 2017 he is professor at CAS-MPG partner institute for computational biology, CAS, China.

His major research interests are searching for molecular features specific to humans, through integrative analysis of genetic, transcriptomic and metabolomic data measured in modern and archaic humans, humans affected by cognitive disorders, as well as closely related mammalian species: chimpanzees, macaques and mice.

Dr. KHAITOVICH Philipp was recipient of International Cooperation Award for Young Scientists awarded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2012); Foreign Expert 1000 Talents Program Award, Chinese Government (2012); State Specially Recruited Experts awarded by the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC (2012); International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, the Shanghai Science and Technology committee (2013); Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award, Shanghai Municipal Government (2013); Friendship Award, the People's Republic of China's highest award for foreign experts (2015).

He is the chief scientist of Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; the international collaboration grant of National Natural Science Foundation of China; He was the chief of the Bureau of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the general grant of National Natural Science Foundation of China; the major grant of National Natural Science Foundation of China, International collaboration grant of Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the scientist of 973 project.

Research Interest

We are interested to know how exactly our species came to exist. Human evolution has resulted in a species that possesses an apparently unique set of phenotypic capabilities. Newly evolved human-specific features may also represent vulnerable points in otherwise well buffered functional networks, resulting in uniquely human disease susceptibilities.

Human brain: organization, evolution, and function

We search for molecular features specific to humans, through integrative analysis of genetic, transcriptomic and metabolomic data measured in modern and archaic humans, humans affected by cognitive disorders, as well as closely related mammalian species: chimpanzees, macaques and mice. Following this approach, we have identified several molecular mechanisms that potentially underlie the evolution of the human phenotype and identified changes in brain organization accompanying cognitive development, as well as functional decline in ageing and common cognitive disorders.

The research conducted is built on a combination of the following resources and instruments:

· Collection of unique human and non-human primate brain samples.

· Use of novel high-throughput data generation methods, including high-throughput sequencing and high precision mass spectrometry to generate comprehensive datasets covering gene structure (splicing) and activity (expression), as well as cellular and organismal physiology estimated using concentrations of thousands of biochemical markers: metabolites and lipids.

· Use of novel analytical tools and algorithms to analyze data and intergrade heterogeneous data types.

· Use of classical laboratory approaches, including microscopy and immunohistochemistry, as well as cell culture and organism-level experiments, to verified specific results obtained by the analysis of large datasets.

We use various combinations of these resources and instruments to get insights into complex biological problems, with the main focus on:

· Evolution of cognitive abilities unique to humans or particularly advances in humans.

· Metabolic and structural organization of the human brain, its evolution and variability across human populations.

· Molecular features of natural and artificial selections in animals and humans.

Selected Publications

1. Li, Q., K. Bozek, C. Xu, Y. Guo, J. Sun, S. Paabo, C. C. Sherwood, P. R. Hof, J. J. Ely, Y. Li, L. Willmitzer, P. Giavalisco* and P. Khaitovich*. "Changes in Lipidome Composition During Brain Development in Humans, Chimpanzees, and Macaque Monkeys." Mol Biol Evol 34, no. 5 (2017): 1155-1166.

2. He, Z., D. Han, O. Efimova, P. Guijarro, Q. Yu, A. Oleksiak, S. Jiang, K. Anokhin, B. Velichkovsky, S. Grunewald and P. Khaitovich*. "Comprehensive Transcriptome Analysis of Neocortical Layers in Humans, Chimpanzees and Macaques." Nat Neurosci 20, no. 6 (2017): 886-895.

3. Liu, X., D. Han, M. Somel, X. Jiang, H. Hu, P. Guijarro, N. Zhang, A. Mitchell, T. Halene, J. J. Ely, C. C. Sherwood, P. R. Hof, Z. Qiu, S. Paabo*, S. Akbarian* and P. Khaitovich*. "Disruption of an Evolutionarily Novel Synaptic Expression Pattern in Autism." PLoS Biol 14, no. 9 (2016): e1002558.

4. Wei, Y. N., H. Y. Hu, G. C. Xie, N. Fu, Z. B. Ning, R. Zeng* and P. Khaitovich*. "Transcript and Protein Expression Decoupling Reveals Rna Binding Proteins and Mirnas as Potential Modulators of Human Aging." Genome Biol 16, (2015): 41.

5. Bozek, K., Y. Wei, Z. Yan, X. Liu, J. Xiong, M. Sugimoto, M. Tomita, S. Paabo, C. C. Sherwood, P. R. Hof, J. J. Ely, Y. Li, D. Steinhauser, L. Willmitzer, P. Giavalisco* and P. Khaitovich*. "Organization and Evolution of Brain Lipidome Revealed by Large-Scale Analysis of Human, Chimpanzee, Macaque, and Mouse Tissues." Neuron 85, no. 4 (2015): 695-702.

6. Khrameeva, E. E., K. Bozek, L. He, Z. Yan, X. Jiang, Y. Wei, K. Tang, M. S. Gelfand, K. Prufer, J. Kelso, S. Paabo, P. Giavalisco*, M. Lachmann* and P. Khaitovich*. "Neanderthal Ancestry Drives Evolution of Lipid Catabolism in Contemporary Europeans." Nat Commun 5, (2014): 3584.

7. Bozek, K., Y. Wei, Z. Yan, X. Liu, J. Xiong, M. Sugimoto, M. Tomita, S. Paabo, R. Pieszek, C. C. Sherwood, P. R. Hof, J. J. Ely, D. Steinhauser, L. Willmitzer, J. Bangsbo, O. Hansson, J. Call*, P. Giavalisco* and P. Khaitovich*. "Exceptional Evolutionary Divergence of Human Muscle and Brain Metabolomes Parallels Human Cognitive and Physical Uniqueness." PLoS Biol 12, no. 5 (2014): e1001871.

8. Mazin, P., J. Xiong, X. Liu, Z. Yan, X. Zhang, M. Li, L. He, M. Somel, Y. Yuan, Y. P. Phoebe Chen, N. Li, Y. Hu, N. Fu, Z. Ning, R. Zeng, H. Yang, W. Chen, M. Gelfand* and P. Khaitovich*. "Widespread Splicing Changes in Human Brain Development and Aging." Mol Syst Biol 9, (2013): 633.

9. Liu, X., M. Somel, L. Tang, Z. Yan, X. Jiang, S. Guo, Y. Yuan, L. He, A. Oleksiak, Y. Zhang, N. Li, Y. Hu, W. Chen, Z. Qiu*, S. Paabo* and P. Khaitovich*. "Extension of Cortical Synaptic Development Distinguishes Humans from Chimpanzees and Macaques." Genome Res 22, no. 4 (2012): 611-22.

10. Khaitovich, P., I. Hellmann, W. Enard, K. Nowick, M. Leinweber, H. Franz, G. Weiss, M. Lachmann and S. Paabo*. "Parallel Patterns of Evolution in the Genomes and Transcriptomes of Humans and Chimpanzees." Science 309, no. 5742 (2005): 1850-4.