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Inoue Lab
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The lab uncovers how rhodopsins, light-driven proteins, work, and uses that knowledge to control living organisms with light.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering how light-driven proteins work
The Inoue Lab studies how proteins that operate on light energy work.
Focusing on rhodopsins found in microbes and animals, the lab investigates the reactions that occur inside a protein after it absorbs light, using methods such as laser-based spectroscopy.
Based on these findings, the lab also works on applications to optogenetics, a technology for controlling living organisms with light.
The lab also searches vast genomic datasets for new photoreceptor proteins, and pursues research that uses machine learning and automated experiments.
Key terms
- Rhodopsin
- A membrane protein that binds a pigment called retinal and functions when it absorbs light. It serves as a light sensor in the eye and as a pump in microbes.
- Optogenetics
- A technology that makes cells produce light-driven proteins so that cellular functions can be controlled and measured with light. It is also called "light genetics" in Japanese.
- Membrane potential
- The electrical difference between the inside and outside of a cell membrane. It is involved in nerve signaling, the opening and closing of plant stomata, and more.
- Spectroscopy
- A method for examining the state and motion of molecules by measuring, wavelength by wavelength, how a substance absorbs or scatters light shone on it.
NewsLab news
A paper on the diverse light-driven functions of microbial rhodopsins was published in Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan
A doctoral student won a Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Photobiology Association
A paper on a research platform that uses robots to automate rhodopsin engineering was published in BMC Biology
Associate Professor Keiichi Inoue received the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work
ResearchResearch themes
Many organisms use sunlight as a source of energy and as a cue for sensing their surroundings. The lab aims to clarify how the diverse photoreceptor proteins at the heart of these processes work, from the molecular level to the cellular and organismal levels, and to develop molecules that can be used for optogenetics and other applications.
*Illustrative imageDiversity and Mechanisms of Microbial Rhodopsins
The lab studies microbial rhodopsins, light-sensing membrane proteins found in bacteria, algae, giant viruses, and other organisms. It searches organisms around the world for rhodopsins with novel functions, and uses spectroscopy, molecular biology, and informatics to examine how a wide range of light-driven functions arise from a shared structure.
*Illustrative imageAnimal Rhodopsins
The lab studies animal rhodopsins, which act as light sensors in animal vision and other functions. The molecular mechanisms that produce differences in their properties remain largely unresolved, so the lab combines spectroscopy and molecular biology to investigate both their diversity and what they have in common.
*Illustrative imageOptogenetics
Optogenetics is a technology that combines light and genetic engineering to control and measure the functions of living organisms with light. Using rhodopsins from diverse organisms and their artificial derivatives, the lab develops next-generation optogenetics.
*Illustrative imageSeeing and Controlling Plant Membrane Potential with Light
In plants, the membrane potential of cells is involved in the opening and closing of stomata, defense against pests and diseases, and more. By introducing tools derived from microbial rhodopsins into Arabidopsis thaliana, the lab is taking on the challenge of developing a technology that both manipulates and detects membrane potential using light.
MembersFaculty
The Inoue Lab consists of faculty members, project specialist staff, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKeiichi InouePublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorTakashi NagataPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorMasae Konno
- Project Assistant ProfessorYoshitaka KatoPublications ↗
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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: “Solar salt ponds NZ. ( )” Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand / CC0 (cropped)
- Diversity and Mechanisms of Microbial Rhodopsins: “Halobacteria” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Animal Rhodopsins: “Red eye housefly” Prasanna / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Optogenetics: “Pyramidal hippocampal neuron 40x” MethoxyRoxy / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Seeing and Controlling Plant Membrane Potential with Light: “Arabidopsis thaliana kz07” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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