LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Maruyama Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab exploring the origins and diversity of symbiosis involving photosynthetic organisms.
AboutAbout the lab
Tracing the origins of symbiosis.
The Maruyama Lab studies photosymbiosis, in which photosynthetic organisms live together with other organisms.
As in the case of corals and their symbiotic algae (Symbiodiniaceae, or zooxanthellae), symbiosis can give rise to new ways of living, and plant chloroplasts are thought to be one such example.
The lab approaches its research from two directions: elucidating how symbiosis began, and understanding the diversity of symbioses that are occurring today.
Key terms
- Zooxanthellae (Symbiodiniaceae)
- Small algae (zooxanthellae) that live inside the cells of corals and sea anemones. They pass nutrients made by photosynthesis to their host.
- Chloroplast
- A small organelle in the cells of plants and algae where photosynthesis takes place. It is thought to have originally been a separate organism.
- Photosymbiosis
- Photosymbiosis: a symbiosis in which a photosynthetic organism lives together with another organism, giving rise to a new way of living.
ResearchResearch themes
Almost all organisms on Earth live in symbiosis with other organisms. The lab investigates the mechanisms of symbiosis involving photosynthetic organisms, from the perspectives of gene function and cellular function, in order to shed light on biodiversity and the history of evolution.
*Illustrative imageOrigin and evolution of chloroplasts
Chloroplasts are thought to have originated when an ancestral organism took a photosynthetic bacterium into its cell. By studying the feeding apparatus of bacteria-eating algae and the light-harvesting apparatus, the lab aims to clarify how the first chloroplasts evolved.
*Illustrative imageEvolution and diversity of coral–Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis
Some corals and sea anemones grow using nutrients produced by symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living inside their cells. Using the sea anemone Exaiptasia (Aiptasia) and Symbiodiniaceae, the lab investigates the genes and cellular processes involved in the maintenance and breakdown of symbiosis.
MembersFaculty
The Maruyama Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral and master's students, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorShinichiro MaruyamaPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Coral bleaching Florida Keys 2023” NOAA / Public domain (cropped)
- Origin and evolution of chloroplasts: “Moss chloroplasts 100× objective” Kelvinsong / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Evolution and diversity of coral–Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis: “Exaiptasia diaphana 30004694” Chris Alice Kratzer / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.