The Kazusa DNA Research Institute, an institution of various basic research fields of DNA-related science, was founded in 1991 with the support of the Chiba Prefectural Government. Since its inauguration, it has yielded many scientific achievements of worldwide importance, including the world's first complete deciphering of the genomes of plants and photosynthesizing cyanobacteria as well as the discovery of more than 2,000 new human genes.