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Cell-to-Cell Signaling Lab
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A lab searching for peptide hormones that transmit information between plant cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Plant survival strategies revealed through cell-to-cell signaling
The lab discovers molecules that carry information between plant cells and tissues, and investigates how they work.
The lab has discovered several new peptide hormones and their receptors involved in plant growth and responses to the environment.
The lab's approach is to focus on a specific molecule, study its function, and from there uncover new mechanisms and phenomena.
Techniques for analyzing trace amounts of molecules by mass spectrometry form the foundation of the lab's research.
Key terms
- Peptide hormone
- A substance made of a short chain of amino acids that acts as a hormone, transmitting information from cell to cell
- Sieve tube
- The pathway in plants that carries photosynthetic products made in the leaves to the shoot tip and roots
- Post-translational modification
- A change in which groups such as sulfate groups or sugar chains are attached to a protein or peptide after it has been made. It greatly affects how the molecule functions
NewsLab news
Research by Assistant Professor Mari Ohnishi, Professor Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi, and colleagues published in Nature Plants
Professor Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi receives the 2026 Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists Award
ResearchResearch themes
Plants cannot move around, yet it is becoming clear that they actively exchange information between cells and tissues to survive in a changing natural environment. Starting from molecules such as peptide hormones and the enzymes responsible for post-translational modification, the lab studies their roles and aims to decipher the ingenious survival strategies of plants.
*Illustrative imageSearching for new peptide hormones and receptors
The lab narrows down candidates from genome information, determines the structures of peptide hormones by mass spectrometry, and searches for the receptors they bind to. It has found hormones involved in plant growth and responses to the environment, and is now investigating their downstream signaling pathways.
*Illustrative imageSearching for peptides that move through the sieve tube
Some peptides are produced in leaves, travel through the sieve tube to the roots, and regulate the expression of nitrate uptake transporters. The lab narrows down such non-secretory peptides and analyzes their movement between organs and their physiological functions, exploring how information is exchanged between shoots and roots.
*Illustrative imageGlycosyltransferases and glycan modification
The lab purified from plant cells and identified enzymes that attach sugar chains to peptides and extracellular proteins. Using the growth and reproductive abnormalities that appear in plants lacking these enzymes as clues, it investigates the roles of glycan modification.
*Illustrative imageSearching for phosphatase substrates
The lab studies phosphatases, enzymes that remove phosphate groups from proteins, whose substrates are still unknown. Using proteomics to quantify changes in phosphorylation, it searches for substrates, and has found that an enzyme called CEPH dephosphorylates the nitrate transporter NRT2.1 and thereby switches its activity on.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorYoshikatsu Matsubayashi
- Assistant ProfessorMari Ohnishi
- Assistant ProfessorYuri Ohkubo
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: “Plant micropropagation in laboratory” Viktor Husak / CC0 (cropped)
- Searching for new peptide hormones and receptors: “Mass spectrometer quadrupole” Fulvio314 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Searching for peptides that move through the sieve tube: “Alliaria petiolata, stalk, cross section, Etzold green” User:Micropix / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Glycosyltransferases and glycan modification: “Glycosylation of a polypeptide” Kep17 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching for phosphatase substrates: “Crystal structure of Tryptophan-7-Halogenase” Jmont31 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子修飾制御学): “VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipette” Labrat879 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞生理学研究): “CSIRO ScienceImage 2913 Operating an Electron Microscope” Textile and Fibre Technology, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (植物分
子シグナル学): “Leaf epidermis” Louisa Howard (Dartmouth electron microscope facility) / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (多細胞秩序): “Plant Tissue Culture Lab - Atlanta Botanical Garden” Daderot / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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