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Nishimura Lab
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A lab that follows the dynamics of DNA in chloroplasts and mitochondria.
AboutAbout the lab
Another DNA inside the cell.
The Nishimura Lab studies the functions of chloroplasts and mitochondria, building on the methods of molecular genetics.
Chloroplasts and mitochondria are thought to have originated from independent bacteria that entered into symbiosis with the ancestors of eukaryotic cells, and they still have their own DNA and gene expression machinery.
This DNA binds to proteins to form a structure called the nucleoid, but its detailed structure and regulatory mechanisms are still not understood.
Using the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas and other model organisms, the lab combines microscopy, genetics, and biochemistry.
Key terms
- Nucleoid
- A structure in which the DNA of chloroplasts and mitochondria is bound to proteins and folded. It corresponds to the chromosome of an organelle
- Chlamydomonas
- A unicellular green alga with flagella. It is well suited to genetic experiments and is widely used in research on photosynthesis and chloroplasts
- Maternal inheritance
- The phenomenon in which, of the chloroplast or mitochondrial DNA that both parents have, only the mother's is passed on to offspring
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The Nishimura Lab focuses on the nucleoid, a complex of DNA and proteins found in chloroplasts and mitochondria. Nucleoids serve as the center of DNA replication, repair, gene expression, and inheritance, and their shape, number, and distribution change greatly depending on the environment and developmental stage. The lab aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind these changes.
*Illustrative imageWatching Nucleoid Division in Living Cells
The lab labeled chloroplast nucleoids with a fluorescent protein and tracked them in living cells using a microfluidic device. It captured nucleoids, which normally look spherical, being broken down into fine pieces and turning into a mesh-like structure as the chloroplast divides, then returning to a spherical shape once division is complete.
*Illustrative imageThe Enzyme That Cuts Chloroplast DNA Apart
For chloroplasts to multiply by dividing, chloroplast DNA must be reliably distributed between them. When the lab isolated a mutant in which the nucleoid is concentrated in a single chloroplast, what turned out to be defective was an enzyme that cuts chloroplast DNA apart precisely, like scissors.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of Maternal Inheritance
Both males and females have chloroplasts and mitochondria, yet in most cases only the female's are passed on to offspring. In Chlamydomonas, it is known that chloroplast DNA from the male is degraded within a short time after mating, and the lab is searching for the genes responsible for this degradation through mutant isolation and reverse genetic analysis.
MembersFaculty
The Nishimura Lab is made up of faculty members, technical assistants, and students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYoshiki Nishimura
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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: “201410 chlamydomonas” DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Watching Nucleoid Division in Living Cells: “Lab on a Chip ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- The Enzyme That Cuts Chloroplast DNA Apart: “Holliday junction coloured” Zephyris / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of Maternal Inheritance: “MEF cell mitochondria 2” Institute of Molecular Medicine I, University of Düsseldorf / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tominaga Lab): “Canadian Pond Weed Leaf Tip” KarlGaff / CC BY 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 (Ito Lab): “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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