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Kunitomo Lab (Molecular Behavioral Genetics)
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A lab that uses C. elegans to investigate the mechanisms of chemosensation and learning starting from genes.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering how the brain works, starting from genes.
The Kunitomo Group studies which genes underlie nervous system functions such as perception and learning.
The group investigates how the nematode C. elegans changes its behavior in response to its surrounding environment.
Using a variety of methods from genetics and neuroscience, the group aims to clarify the mechanisms of chemosensation and learning at the molecular and cellular levels.
Key terms
- C. elegans (nematode)
- A small, worm-like animal that lives in soil. Its body is transparent and it has a short generation time, so it is widely used in genetics and neuroscience research.
- Chemosensation
- The sense of detecting chemical substances in the surroundings, such as smells and tastes.
- Mutant
- An individual in which part of a gene has changed. Mutants provide clues for determining which genes are needed for which functions.
ResearchResearch themes
To understand the roles of genes that underlie nervous system functions such as perception and learning, the lab studies how the nematode C. elegans adapts to its environment. Using nematodes, which are well suited to genetic research, the lab investigates the mechanisms of chemosensation and learning at the molecular and cellular levels.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of Memory and Learning
C. elegans remembers the salt concentration of the place where it grew up. If it has had enough food, it moves toward that same concentration; if it has experienced starvation, it moves to avoid it. By studying mutants that cannot learn, including how stress and aging affect learning, the lab will clarify the mechanisms of memory and learning.
*Illustrative imageChemosensation in Invertebrates
Animals use smells and tastes as cues to find food and avoid danger. The senses that each organism has acquired in adaptation to its environment have so far been well studied in only a few cases. The lab will clarify the mechanisms of the seemingly unusual chemosensation found in C. elegans.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of Ion Sensing
C. elegans responds to ions such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and copper, which are detected by several sensory neurons in its head. The receptor molecules for each of these ions have not yet been identified. The lab will clarify how cells respond to ions.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kunitomo Group consist of faculty and master's students.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorHirofumi KunitomoPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Varbuss” Heiti Paves / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of Memory and Learning: “C. elegans, model organism in life sciences ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Chemosensation in Invertebrates: “Fluorescence microscopic nematode” Dineshbabudb / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of Ion Sensing: “Adult Caenorhabditis elegans” The original uploader was Kbradnam at English Wikipedia. (Original text: Zeynep F. Altun, Editor of www.wormatlas.org) / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
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