NAIST Division of Biological Science

Laboratories and faculty

Plant Cell Function

Prof. Hashimoto
Professor
Takashi HASHIMOTO
Assistant Professor
Takehide KATO, Shinichiro KOMAKI
Labs HP
https://bsw3.naist.jp/hashimoto/

Outline of Research and Education

We conduct extensive research, from basic to applied, concerning protein function, cell morphogenesis, signal transduction and regulation of gene expression in various plants, making effective use of molecular genetics and imaging technology on Arabidopsis thaliana, liverwort, and green algae.

Major Research Topics

Dynamic reorganization of microtubule cytoskeleton in response to environmental stimuli leading to stress adaptation

  • Pattern formation of bio-polymer networks
  • Regulators of microtubule dynamics
  • Stress-induced reorganization of microtubule arrays
  • Stress-signal transduction leading activation of tubulin kinase
  • Novel growth arrest mechanisms by microtubule disassembly

Why and how plant pavement cells adopt a jigsaw puzzle-like shape?

  • Microtubule regulators generate complex cell shapes
  • Bio-mechanics for local growth anisotropy
  • Physical advantages for complex cell shapes
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 Environmental stresses remodel the microtubule cytoskeleton by phosphorylation of tubulin subunits.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2 The plant microtubule cytoskeleton remodels in response to developmental and environmental signals, and controls plant cell shape.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 Microtubules regulate plant cell shapes. Wild-type pavement cells of Arabidopsis cotyledons adopt a jigsaw puzzle-like shape, whereas the mutant cells of the microtubule regulator are polyhedoral.

References

  1. Yagi et al. J. Cell Sci., 131, jcs203778. 2018
  2. Hotta et al., Plant Physiol. 170, 1189-1205, 2016
  3. Hamada et al., Plant Physiol., 163, 1804-1816, 2013
  4. Hashimoto, Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 16, 698-703, 2013
  5. Fujita et al., Curr. Biol. 23, 1969-1978, 2013
  6. Nakamura et al., Plant J. 71, 216-225, 2012
  7. Nakamura et al., Nature Cell Biol., 12, 1064-1070, 2010
  8. Komaki et al., J. Cell Sci., 123, 451-459, 2010
  9. Nakamura and Hashimoto, J. Cell Sci., 122, 2208-2217, 2009
  10. Yao et al., J. Cell Sci., 121, 2372-2381, 2008
  11. Ishida et al., Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA, 104, 8544-8549, 2007
  12. Nakajima et al., Plant Cell, 16, 1178-1190, 2004
  13. Naoi and Hashimoto, Plant Cell, 16, 1841-1853, 2004
  14. Thitamadee et al., Nature, 417, 193-196, 2002

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