Swimming Through the Genome
Genome Research Cover Art
This project has a connection to my previous Genome Research Cover in 2023, which featured medaka swimming among Japanese glass fishing floats. Dr. Suzuki contacted me about creating the new cover through an introduction from the researcher I had worked with on that earlier project.
It was a nice opportunity to return to medaka — and to Genome Research — with a completely different scientific story and visual approach.
The paper was published at GenomeResearch (2026);36(8).
Bringing Medaka and DNA Together
For the cover, I wanted to keep the central visual idea relatively simple: medaka and DNA.
Rather than illustrating the individual genomic findings literally, I explored ways to integrate the familiar double-helix structure of DNA into the underwater environment of medaka.
I proposed two initial concepts.
Two rough sketches for the cover (left: Swimming Through a DNA Forest; right: Following the DNA).
The first concept: Swimming Through a DNA Forest shows three medaka swimming through an underwater forest of aquatic plants. The plants twist upward in pairs, forming shapes reminiscent of DNA double helices. The three fish could represent the three medaka strains analyzed in the study, while the underwater vegetation could also be arranged as 24 structures, corresponding to the medaka's 24 chromosome pairs.
The idea was to make the DNA feel like part of the medaka's natural environment — a genomic landscape through which the fish are swimming.
The second concept: Following the DNA takes a top-down view. A larger group of medaka swim alongside a large DNA-like pattern, curving their bodies as they follow the shape of the double helix. Compared with the first idea, this concept focused more directly on the relationship between the form of the fish and the flowing geometry of DNA.
The first concept, Swimming Through a DNA Forest, was selected for the final cover.
Two original illustrations for the final cover (left: watercolor background; right: three medaka strains drawn in colored pencil).
I used two different traditional media to create the illustration. The underwater vegetation and surrounding environment were painted in watercolor, while the medaka themselves were drawn in colored pencil. I then combined the two elements to create the final artwork.
The different materials helped distinguish the fish from their environment: the colored-pencil medaka retain their delicate anatomical details, while the watercolor creates a softer and more atmospheric genomic landscape around them.
An unexpected aspect of the finished artwork particularly resonated with the researchers. Toward the depths of the image, the aquatic plants gradually disappear into a deep blue background. Dr.Suzuki commented that this darker, less visible region reminded them of the previously unresolved parts of the medaka genome — genomic regions that had remained largely unknown until this study.
A finished Cover Art (with official Genome Research logo.)
Despite the tight turnaround, I really enjoyed creating this cover, and I’m happy that it became one of my personal favorite pieces. Congratulations to Prof. Suzuki and the entire research team!