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Tomita Lab (Molecular Medical Science)
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The lab uncovers how proteins are made and applies that knowledge to drug development.
AboutAbout the lab
From protein synthesis to life and medicine
Tomita Lab studies the mechanisms of protein synthesis, which is fundamental to life.
The lab clarifies at the molecular level how proteins are made in bacteria, eukaryotes, and mitochondria, with the aim of understanding the systems of life.
Using protein synthesis systems reassembled in test tubes, the lab also conducts engineering research on producing biopharmaceuticals.
Through biomedical engineering, the lab aims to contribute to the development of new diagnostic methods and medical technologies.
Key terms
- Protein synthesis
- The process in cells by which amino acids are linked together to make proteins based on genetic information. Also called translation.
- Cell-free protein synthesis system
- A system that makes proteins without using cells, by gathering only the necessary components in a test tube.
- Unnatural amino acid
- An artificially designed amino acid other than the 20 that living organisms normally use.
NewsLab news
Published a method for studying translation termination using a reconstituted yeast synthesis system in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
Published findings on the control of mitochondrial translation by gravity and mechanical stimulation in Nat. Commun. (joint research with RIKEN)
Published the mechanism of translation initiation in mammalian mitochondria in Nucleic Acids Research
Published, through an international collaboration, how antibiotics act on the mitochondrial translation system
A doctoral student received the Excellent Research Award from the Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify the detailed molecular mechanisms of protein synthesis, which is fundamental to life, and to understand biological systems through the functions of molecules. It also conducts research on creating biopharmaceuticals by using a protein synthesis system reconstituted in test tubes for engineering applications.
*Illustrative imageBiochemistry of the Protein Synthesis System
Using cell-free protein synthesis systems from E. coli, yeast, and mitochondria, the lab investigates the modification of translation factors, the roles of modified bases in tRNA and mRNA, and the mechanisms by which antibiotics act. By uncovering how peptide transfer and decoding, the keys to synthesis, are controlled, the lab also contributes to the understanding of disease.
*Illustrative imageStructural Biology of the Protein Synthesis System
The lab also studies protein synthesis from the perspective of structural biology. Determining the structures of mitochondrial ribosomes and translation factors is important for applications such as drug design.
*Illustrative imageBiomedical Engineering of the Protein Synthesis System
In a yeast cell-free protein synthesis system, the lab replaced all tRNAs with tRNAs prepared in vitro to rewrite the genetic code, and established a system that incorporates multiple unnatural amino acids into large proteins. Using this system, the lab is advancing the development of antibody drugs and other therapeutics.
MembersFaculty
Tomita Lab members include faculty, doctoral and master's students, research students, and administrative assistants.
- Associate ProfessorNono TomitaPublications ↗
- Project Assistant Professor李 茂訓
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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: “MEF cell mitochondria” Institute of Molecular Medicine I, University of Düsseldorf / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Biochemistry of the Protein Synthesis System: “E coli at 10000x, original” Photo by Eric Erbe, digital colorization by Christopher Pooley, both of USDA, ARS, EMU. / Public domain (cropped)
- Structural Biology of the Protein Synthesis System: “Ribosome shape” Vossman / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Biomedical Engineering of the Protein Synthesis System: “Antibody IgG1 structure” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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