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Functional Micromorphology Lab
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A lab that recreates in the test tube how germ cells, the precursors of sperm and eggs, are formed.
AboutAbout the lab
Creating the cells that carry life forward, in the test tube.
The Functional Micromorphology Lab studies how germ cells, the precursors of sperm and eggs, are formed.
The lab has developed technologies to generate, from mouse ES cells and iPS cells, primordial germ cell-like cells that can give rise to sperm and eggs and ultimately to healthy offspring.
Currently, the lab is working to recreate the process of germ cell formation in the test tube using cynomolgus monkeys, which are close to humans, and human iPS cells.
The lab is recruiting graduate students and states that enthusiasm is what matters, regardless of undergraduate field or prior experience.
Key terms
- Primordial germ cells
- Cells formed very early in development that are the origin of sperm and eggs.
- Epigenome
- The totality of marks attached to DNA and histones, rather than the DNA sequence itself. It determines which genes are active.
- Cynomolgus monkey
- A species of monkey that is the closest to humans among the primates that can be used in experiments.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify how germ cells become sperm and eggs and pass genetic and epigenomic information on to the next generation, and to recreate that process in the test tube. It conducts research using mouse, monkey, and human cells in parallel.
*Illustrative imageCreating mouse germ cells in the test tube
The lab investigates methods for expanding mouse primordial germ cell-like cells and the conditions that determine their divergence into male and female fates. It aims to establish an efficient method for generating cells similar to spermatogonial stem cells, the precursors of sperm, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
*Illustrative imageExploring how germ cells form, using cynomolgus monkeys
The lab improves culture methods for cynomolgus monkey pluripotent stem cells and recreates in the test tube the process by which germ cells arise from them. It also investigates how the X chromosome behaves in early embryos. This work is carried out in close collaboration with Shiga University of Medical Science.
*Illustrative imageFrom human iPS cells to germ cells
The lab generates primordial germ cell-like cells from human iPS cells and investigates methods for advancing them to later stages, as well as the epigenomic changes during that process. It also aims to develop methods for differentiating them into spermatogonia and oocytes, in collaboration with the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Functional Micromorphology Lab include faculty, specially appointed researchers, affiliated researchers and project researchers, graduate students, undergraduates, and academic assistants.As of 2025
- ProfessorMitinori Saitou
- Associate ProfessorHiroshi Ohta
- Program-Specific Associate ProfessorTomonori Nakamura
- Program-Specific LecturerIkuhiro Okamoto
- Program-Specific Assistant ProfessorYukihiro Yabuta
- Assistant ProfessorKen Mizuta
- Assistant ProfessorYoshiaki Nosaka
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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: “Macaca fascicularis Ao Nang 5” kallerna / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Creating mouse germ cells in the test tube: “GermCellMigration” Ioannaclark / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Exploring how germ cells form, using cynomolgus monkeys: “Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) Labuk Bay” Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- From human iPS cells to germ cells: “Human iPS cells colonies” Christine Hale, Amy Yeung, David Goulding, Derek Pickard, Kaur Alasoo, Fiona Powrie, Gordon Dougan / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular and Cellular Physiology Lab): “Taste bud esp” NEUROtiker / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Genetics Lab): “Brinster Male germline stem cell transplantation” Credd7398 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Chemistry Lab): “Macrophage by NIAID” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Higher-Order Inter-System Regulation Lab): “Mitochondria, mammalian lung - TEM” Louisa Howard / Public domain (cropped)
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