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Cell Structure Lab
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A lab that uses mosses to explore how plants take shape at the molecular level.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how plants take shape, starting from cell division
The lab studies the molecular mechanisms that underlie plant morphogenesis, using the moss Physcomitrium patens.
Plant cells are surrounded by rigid cell walls, so the positional relationship between the two daughter cells produced by division is maintained permanently.
Using high-resolution live-cell imaging, genome editing, and other approaches, the lab investigates the cytoskeleton, which is fundamental to cell growth and division, and its regulatory factors.
Currently, the lab focuses particularly on the mechanism of cytokinesis, in which a cell divides into two.
Key terms
- Physcomitrium patens
- A basal land plant. It has a high efficiency of DNA homologous recombination and is a model plant for which gene editing methods are available.
- Cell plate
- A "partition" that plants build inside a cell during cell division. It divides the cell in two.
- Motor protein
- A protein that moves along microtubules and carries materials. It is responsible for transport inside cells.
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to clarify the molecular mechanisms that form the basis of plant morphogenesis, the lab conducts research using Physcomitrium patens, a basal land plant. Focusing on the cytoskeleton and its regulatory factors, which are fundamental to cell growth and division, it investigates them through observation of living cells, gene editing, and other methods.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms underlying plant morphogenesis
The lab studies the molecular mechanisms that form the basis of morphogenesis in plant cells, which are surrounded by rigid cell walls. Physcomitrium patens is a model plant for which gene editing methods are available, and the lab currently focuses particularly on the mechanism of cytokinesis.
*Illustrative imageHow the cell plate forms
Plants divide a cell in two by building a "partition" called the cell plate inside it. The lab investigates how its position is determined and how it is built, using high-resolution live-cell imaging and genome editing to examine the functions of the proteins involved.
*Illustrative imageHow materials are transported inside cells
The lab studies transport by microtubules and by the motor proteins that move along them. Through cell biological analyses and in vitro reconstitution, it aims to clarify what materials are transported, for what purpose, and by which molecular machinery.
*Illustrative imageSearching for molecules specific to plant cell division
Unlike animal cells, plant cells have no centrosomes, and their cytokinesis also differs. To find plant-specific molecules and pathways involved in cell division, the lab is working on genetic screening using CRISPR/Cas9, among other approaches.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty and technical assistants.As of 2026
- LecturerMoe Yamada
- YLC Specially Appointed Assistant ProfessorElena Kozgunova
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: “Physcomitrella Sporophyt” Manuel Mildner & Annette Hohe / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms underlying plant morphogenesis: “65 105 Moss ( )” Matthew Bellemare / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How the cell plate forms: “Bryum capillare leaf cells” Des_Callaghan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How materials are transported inside cells: “Microtubules in Primary Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts” Howard Vindin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching for molecules specific to plant cell division: “Mitosis division under microscope” Zone XCLR8 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞時
空間統御): “Elodea cells under microscope” ~delta / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (光生物学): “Plant-cell-sucrose-gradient-fractions” Zuzanna K. Filutowska / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞制御学): “Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory - LUMC” mararie from Leiden, The Netherlands / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (遺伝学): “Culture vials of Drosophila melanogaster in Unifei” Mateus S. Figueiredo / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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