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Organic Chemistry I Lab
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A lab that uses chemistry to investigate and control plant hormones.
AboutAbout the lab
Aiming to integrate natural product chemistry and chemical biology
The Organic Chemistry I Lab focuses on plant hormones and aims to integrate traditional natural product chemistry with cutting-edge chemical biology.
Most physiological functions in plants are regulated by small organic molecules called plant hormones.
From the viewpoint of organic chemistry, the lab considers plants to be remarkably interesting organisms.
Its research goals are to modulate the activity of plant hormones, to search for new plant hormones, and to solve the mystery of how plant hormones evolved.
On the lab's website, it is presented as the Organic Chemistry I Lab in the Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, and as the Natural Product Chemical Biology group in the Department of Molecular and Chemical Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences.
Key terms
- Chemical biology
- A field that uses chemical methods and small organic molecules to investigate and control biological mechanisms. Also called kagaku seibutsugaku in Japanese.
- Plant hormones
- Small organic molecules that regulate most physiological functions in plants. This lab mainly studies jasmonates.
- Molecular glue
- "Molecular glue": a name that likens to glue the way a plant hormone binds to a target protein, such as a receptor, in order to act.
NewsLab news
Students' paper accepted by Cell Reports Physical Science
Students' paper accepted by Nature Communications
A doctoral student received a Student Presentation Award at the 106th Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan (Spring)
Review article by doctoral students accepted by JXB
A doctoral student's paper accepted by Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
ResearchResearch themes
The Organic Chemistry I Lab aims to integrate traditional natural product chemistry with cutting-edge chemical biology. Its main research subjects are plant hormones, especially jasmonates, centered on the plant oxylipin JA-Ile.
*Illustrative imageFreely tuning the activity of plant hormones
The lab chemically synthesizes stereoisomers of plant hormones and tunes their molecular structures based on the three-dimensional structures of their complexes with proteins. It has succeeded in creating synthetic "molecular glues" that selectively activate desired biological responses, such as resistance to pathogens and the production of useful molecular resources.
*Illustrative imageHow to find new plant hormones
To discover new bioactive natural products, the lab focuses on their biosynthesis and metabolism. It has shown that biosynthetic intermediates and metabolites of plant hormones are endogenous substances with biological activities different from those of the plant hormones themselves.
*Illustrative imageThe mystery of plant hormone evolution
Through international collaborative research, the lab has shown that the structures of plant hormones changed greatly over the course of evolution. It is now testing the hypothesis that changes in biosynthetic enzymes altered the biosynthetic pathway.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Organic Chemistry I Lab consist of faculty, visiting professors, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, administrative assistants, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorMinoru Ueda
- Assistant ProfessorTakuya Kaji
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “In the Lab for Chemistry of Plant Polymers” Yulia Kolosova / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Freely tuning the activity of plant hormones: “Beevers crystal structure model of Kaolinite” Dr. Gavin Whittaker, Miramodus ltd / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- How to find new plant hormones: “Column chromatography spinach” Kostasmes95 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The mystery of plant hormone evolution: “Fern Leaves (Unsplash)” Becky Phan beckyphan / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Analytical Chemistry Lab): “Fluorescence microscopy of the DNA of the oral cancer cells” Korinna / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Transformation Lab): “"Party" in a chemical laboratory” Botasuleimen / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Organic Analytical Chemistry Lab): “Round bottom flask 500ml” Lilly_M / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Theoretical Chemistry Lab): “Model 21-103 Mass Spectrometer in use at Exxon analytical research laboratory 1974” Courtesy of Science History Institute, No Known Copyright / Public domain (cropped)
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