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Wakamoto Lab
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A lab that explores the principles of growth, adaptation, and evolution through the fluctuations of individual cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Toward the origins of rules shared by all living things.
The Wakamoto Lab studies the fundamental principles of biological phenomena such as growth, adaptation, evolution, and differentiation, using E. coli, yeast, and cancer cells as models.
Organisms are diverse, but some traits and rules are shared across species. The lab explores the origins and significance of these commonalities through both experiments and theory.
It focuses in particular on fluctuations, plasticity, and interactions observed at the single-cell level.
To do this, the lab develops its own measurement technologies and advances its analyses alongside them.
Key terms
- Phenotype
- The form and traits that actually appear in a cell or organism based on its genetic information. Variation can arise even among cells with the same genes.
- Raman spectrum
- The scattered light emitted by molecules when irradiated with laser light, arranged by wavelength. It serves as a molecular fingerprint.
- Fitness
- A quantity indicating how much a cell or individual with a given trait can multiply and leave offspring.
ResearchResearch themes
Using bacteria, yeast, and cancer cells as models, the lab aims to gain a deep understanding of the growth, adaptation, evolution, and differentiation that organisms generally exhibit. Through both experiments and theory, it explores the origins of the traits and rules shared across species and their significance for living organisms.
*Illustrative imageCellular adaptation to stress
The lab investigates the phenomenon in which, under strong stress such as antibiotics, only some cells survive even though there is no difference in their genetic information. It aims to elucidate how populations of bacteria and cancer cells adapt to stress.
*Illustrative imageLive-cell omics with Raman measurements
By computationally identifying the correspondence between cellular Raman spectra and gene expression, the lab has shown that the expression levels of thousands of genes can be estimated without destroying the cell. It aims to develop a method for tracking changes in gene expression in living cells.
*Illustrative imageGrowth fluctuations and phenomenological laws
Even E. coli cells with identical genetic information differ from cell to cell in how they grow. By measuring these fluctuations precisely, the lab has found simple laws, such as the relationship between single-cell fluctuations and the population growth rate, and a trade-off between growth rate and death rate.
*Illustrative imageFitness landscapes and measuring the strength of selection
Using cell lineage data obtained from single-cell measurements, the lab is developing analysis methods that directly evaluate how fitness changes with differences in phenotype (the fitness landscape) and how strongly natural selection acts.
MembersFaculty
The Wakamoto Lab consists of faculty members, project researchers, research support staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYuichi WakamotoPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorTakashi NozoePublications ↗
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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: “E. coli Bacteria ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Cellular adaptation to stress: “Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Bacteria, the Cause of TB ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Live-cell omics with Raman measurements: “Cell Observer SD ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Growth fluctuations and phenomenological laws: “Baking yeast cells under 40x microscope objective” ~delta / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Fitness landscapes and measuring the strength of selection: “16-genotype fitness landscape represented as a graph” Emily Dolson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (柳澤研究室): “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes stained with acridine orange” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (石原研究室
（理論生物物理／Ishihara Lab） ): “Actin Filaments in a Neuroblastoma cell Line” Howard Vindin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (豊田(太郎)研究室): “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes at phase-contrast microscopy” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (理論化学研究室
（横川研究室） ): “Separatory funnel with oil and colored water” PRHaney / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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