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Plant Signaling Molecules Lab
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A lab that explores the signaling molecules underlying how plants respond to their nutrient environment.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how plants coordinate growth in response to changing nutrient conditions
The Plant Signaling Molecules Lab studies, with a focus on the action of signaling molecules, how plant growth is coordinately regulated in response to changes in the nutrient environment.
The lab aims to identify key molecules that carry information within cells, between cells, and between organs, and to clarify the mechanisms of their biosynthesis and transport at the molecular level.
Its main research subject is cytokinin, a plant hormone that acts in the regulation that promotes plant growth.
The lab welcomes motivated students and early-career researchers who are interested in its research themes.
Key terms
- Cytokinin
- A general term for substances that promote cell division in the presence of auxin. It is one of the plant hormones
- Signaling molecule
- A molecule that carries information between cells or between organs. Examples include plant hormones, peptides, and RNA
- Stomata
- Openings on the leaf surface that serve as gateways for gas exchange
NewsLab news
A paper first-authored by a Project Assistant Professor was published in Plant Communications
A paper first-authored by a Lecturer was published in Journal of Experimental Botany
A paper on ABCC4, a cytokinin efflux transporter, was published in Plant Physiology
A paper with a Lecturer as corresponding author was published in Planta
Prof. Sakakibara received the 2nd (FY2023) Kenichiro Ishii Award
ResearchResearch themes
In response to changes in the nutrient environment, plants regulate metabolism and morphogenesis and adjust the growth of shoots and roots, thereby optimizing balance as a whole organism. The lab focuses on the molecules that carry information between cells and between organs for this purpose, and its main research subject is the plant hormone cytokinin.
*Illustrative imageCytokinin biosynthesis and transport
Cytokinin is involved in many plant processes, including morphogenesis and nitrogen nutrient signaling. The lab investigates the functions and expression regulation of key genes involved in its biosynthesis and transport.
*Illustrative imageInter-organ communication of nutrient status
Plants adjust the growth of shoots and roots according to the nutrient environment. Centering on cytokinin, the lab studies how nutrient information is transported over long distances within the plant and how its effects are regulated, and it also studies inter-organ information exchange in the response to iron nutrition.
*Illustrative imageNovel cytokinins produced by a pathogenic bacterium
It is becoming clear that the plant pathogen Rhodococcus fascians synthesizes novel cytokinin-like substances that plants do not have, and that these play an important role in the symptoms that appear during infection. The lab is working to identify these substances, whose structures are unknown, and to clarify their functions.
*Illustrative imagePATROL1 vesicle trafficking and the meristem
PATROL1, which was found through a mutant involved in the stomatal response to CO2, is thought to be involved in vesicle trafficking inside cells. The lab aims to clarify the molecular mechanism by which it contributes to determining root meristem size.
MembersFaculty
The Plant Signaling Molecules Lab consists of faculty, researchers, technical assistants, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHitoshi Sakakibara
- LecturerMimi Hashimoto
- YLC Specially Appointed Assistant ProfessorFanny BELLEGARDE
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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: “Iss064e ) --- Photo documentation of the Plant Habitat-02 investigation aboard the International space Station (ISS)” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Cytokinin biosynthesis and transport: “Arabidopsis thaliana kz13” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Inter-organ communication of nutrient status: “Hydroponic onions, NASA -- 17 June 2004” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Novel cytokinins produced by a pathogenic bacterium: “Hydrosis (plant pathogenic) ( )” Scot Nelson / CC0 (cropped)
- PATROL1 vesicle trafficking and the meristem: “200 Fatsia japonica Paper plant LEAF epidermis print” ChrisInMilton / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Integrative Plant Physiology Lab): “"Arabidopsis thaliana" in vitro” MatasNavickas / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Glycoscience Lab): “Bureau of Chemistry Carbohydrate Laboratory - DPLA - 0ba4f3b22c981b59794a8e8032bc4fa8” United States. Food and Drug Administration / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Food Neuroscience Lab): “Man using microscope in laboratory LCCN” Harris & Ewing, photographer / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Biological Regulation Lab): “Electron microscope ISP” Yakovlev Viktor / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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