Integrative Plant Physiology Lab

AboutAbout the lab

Uncovering how the plant circadian clock works

The Integrative Plant Physiology Lab studies the mechanisms of the plant circadian clock (internal clock) from a molecular science perspective.
Plants adapt remarkably well to the cyclical environmental changes of the "day" and the "year" created by the Earth's rotation and revolution.
The lab aims to understand and control the circadian clock mechanisms that are deeply involved in this adaptation.
In recent years, it has become clear that mutations in clock-related genes alter flowering time and growth, and in this way contribute to regulating the cultivation period and growing regions of major cereal crops.

ResearchResearch themes

Plants adapt remarkably well to the cyclical environmental changes of the day and the year, and the circadian clock is deeply involved in this adaptation. Aiming to understand and control how the circadian clock works, the lab investigates genes involved in the clock and the network of genes influenced by the clock.

*Illustrative image

Clock genes and proteins↗

Genes involved in the plant clock have been obtained by screening for clock mutants and identifying the mutated genes, searching for proteins that regulate genes expressed in daily cycles, and disrupting genes that are expressed in a circadian manner.

*Illustrative image

Clock transcriptional network↗

The plant clock controls the time of day at which diverse biological phenomena occur, such as changes in leaf angle, opening and closing of petals, opening and closing of leaf stomata, and cell elongation. It is also known that most genes in the genome are influenced by the clock.

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