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Sonoike Lab
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The lab studies how photosynthesis responds to the environment, using plants and algae.
AboutAbout the lab
The mechanisms and rules of photosynthesis.
The Sonoike Lab studies the mechanisms of photosynthesis, which uses light energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic matter.
The main reaction pathways and components of photosynthesis are already known, but it is still unclear how this elaborate system is assembled and how it is remodeled when the environment changes.
The lab tries to answer this question using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the model photosynthetic organism cyanobacteria, and chilling-sensitive plants such as cucumber.
Because photosynthesis in nature is limited by environmental factors, the lab investigates the survival strategies of plants through the relationship between photosynthesis and environmental factors.
Key terms
- Photosystem
- A protein complex in the chloroplast membrane that receives light energy and drives the movement of electrons
- Chlorophyll fluorescence
- The phenomenon in which part of the light absorbed by chlorophyll is emitted again as light. It provides a way to assess the state of photosynthesis without damaging the plant
- Cyanobacteria
- Bacteria that perform oxygen-producing photosynthesis. They are thought to be the ancestors of chloroplasts and are used as model organisms for photosynthesis
NewsLab news
The lab took part in editing and writing a book that compiles plant research methods, 'Shokubutsu Kenkyu no Susumekata: Genri to Jikkenrei' (Approaches to Plant Research: Principles and Experimental Examples; in Japanese)
A collaborative study involving the professor revealed the ion transporter that optimizes photosynthesis
A collaborative study involving the professor succeeded in transplanting chloroplasts with photosynthetic activity into animal cells
ResearchResearch themes
The Sonoike Lab studies how the photosynthetic system is assembled and how it is remodeled when the environment changes. Building on the fact that the reaction pathways and constituent proteins of photosynthesis are now largely known, the lab investigates the rules that determine how it functions, from the perspectives of acclimation, adaptation, and evolution.
*Illustrative imageMolecular biology of environmental response systems in plants
Using a method that measures time-dependent changes in two-dimensional images of chlorophyll fluorescence, the lab comprehensively examines the phenotypes of gene-disruption mutants of cyanobacteria. The same method can be applied to Arabidopsis, and the lab searches for mutants that grow just like the wild type but have subtle changes only in their photosynthetic system.
*Illustrative imageAcclimation, adaptation, and evolution in response to the light environment
Photosynthetic organisms need light, but they also need ways to cope with light that is too strong. The lab studies acclimation, adaptation, and evolution, for example by using cyanobacterial mutants in which a gene that regulates the ratio of photosystems has been disrupted, and reproducing in the lab the process by which the mutants are replaced by the wild type under strong light.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of chilling injury in plants
In plants of tropical or subtropical origin, such as cucumber and tomato, photosynthesis drops sharply at temperatures around 10°C, which hinders growth. The lab has shown that this injury occurs specifically in Photosystem I and that the system that scavenges reactive oxygen species is involved, and is now searching for the site that senses low temperature.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Sonoike Lab are faculty, invited researchers, visiting researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorKintake Sonoike
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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: “Lime chloroplasts” Mjolk1 / CC0 (cropped)
- Molecular biology of environmental response systems in plants: “Arabidopsis thal background” Reo On / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Acclimation, adaptation, and evolution in response to the light environment: “Synechococcus cyanobacteria-cultures” Masur / Public domain (cropped)
- Mechanisms of chilling injury in plants: “Cucumis sativus 0001” H. Zell / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ito Lab): “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kato Lab): “Megakaryocyte in bone marrow” Animalculist / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kubo Lab): “CSIRO ScienceImage 7113 Honey bee comb showing cells” Nick Pitsas, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tominaga Lab): “Canadian Pond Weed Leaf Tip” KarlGaff / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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