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Naramoto Lab
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The lab studies how plants build their diverse forms, starting at the cellular level.
AboutAbout the lab
Why can plants create such diverse forms?
The Naramoto Lab studies the mechanisms by which plants build their forms, starting at the cellular level.
Plant form is not determined by genes alone. It arises from the combined effects of cell orientation, plant hormone action, intracellular trafficking, the cytoskeleton, the state of biological membranes, and responses to the environment.
Using bryophytes, ferns, Arabidopsis thaliana, mycoheterotrophic plants, and others, the lab investigates how body axes are established and how organs form.
Centered on live imaging and microscopy, the lab combines molecular genetics, cell biology, AI-based image analysis, and mathematical biology, aiming not only to "see" development but to "measure and understand" it.
Key terms
- Cell polarity
- A state in which specific proteins gather on one side of a cell, giving the cell a direction
- Auxin
- A plant hormone that determines the direction of plant growth and how organs form
- Live imaging
- A method of continuously imaging living cells or tissues under a microscope to follow changes over time
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates the basic principles of how plants build their forms, from the perspectives of cell orientation, plant hormones, and intracellular trafficking. By comparing plants from bryophytes to vascular plants, it also approaches the evolution of form.
*Illustrative imageBuilding the Body from Cell Orientation
When proteins gather on one side of a cell, the cell acquires polarity. When this polarity is aligned across a tissue, it determines the direction of growth and the pattern of organs. The lab focuses on "PIN clusters," formed by PIN proteins that transport auxin.
*Illustrative imageChanging Form in Response to the Environment
Because plants cannot move, they live by changing their growth direction and body form while exposed to light, gravity, drought, wounding, and pathogens. The lab focuses on how closely these environmental response mechanisms are linked to the mechanisms of development and morphogenesis.
*Illustrative imageMolecules Behind the Evolution of Form
The reduction of leaves or lateral organs can give rise to new forms. The lab identifies genes involved in such reduction and compares molecules for body axis formation and cell polarity from algae to vascular plants, in order to explore the changes that made the evolution of form possible.
*Illustrative imageHealing Wounds and Generating New Individuals
Plants can not only repair damaged tissue but also generate new organs and individuals from parts of leaves, stems, roots, gemmae, and more. The lab studies this ability, which is important for immobile plants to survive and adapt to diverse environments.
MembersFaculty
The Naramoto Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorSatoshi Naramoto
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Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Naramoto Lab
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Kuroiwa-Chikami-Yang LabFaculty of Science, Department of Biological SciencesMolecular cytogenetics, evolutionary developmental biologyThe 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: “Arabidopsis thaliana kz07” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Building the Body from Cell Orientation: “Dew on an Equisetum fluviatile Luc Viatour” Luc Viatour / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Changing Form in Response to the Environment: “Keimender Hanfsamen - Germinating hemp seed 01” Vschlothauer / CC0 (cropped)
- Molecules Behind the Evolution of Form: “Monotropastrum humile (0s1)” Alpsdake / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Healing Wounds and Generating New Individuals: “Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha ( )” Aleš Kladnik from Ljubljana, Slovenia / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Watahiki Lab (Plant Morphology and Function Ib)): “Arabidopsis thaliana sl13” Stefan.lefnaer / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morphology and Function II Lab): “Arabidopsis thal kz1” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Koshikawa Lab): “Dguttifera” MA Hanson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kuroiwa-Chikami-Yang Lab): “Chicken embryo” Mjeltsch / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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