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Developmental Evolution Lab
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A lab that investigates how leaf shape is formed and how it has evolved.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering how leaves develop and evolve
The Developmental Evolution Lab studies how leaves are formed, including the mechanisms that control their development and their evolution.
The above-ground parts of seed plants consist only of leaves and stems, and flowers are also assemblies of organs that are modified leaves.
Using Arabidopsis thaliana as its main experimental material, the lab has been the first in the world to identify key groups of genes that control leaf shape and size.
With molecular developmental genetics as its core, and also using methods from classical morphology and physiology, the lab works with a wide variety of plants, including non-model plants from Borneo and Thailand and the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.
Key terms
- Evo-devo
- A field of research that compares how living organisms develop in order to explore how their forms have evolved
- Compensation
- A phenomenon in which, when the number of cells in a leaf decreases, each cell grows larger than usual to make up for it
- Heterophylly
- The ability of a single plant to produce leaves of different shapes depending on the environment, such as underwater versus on land
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won a Poster Award at the annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Plant Morphology
A doctoral student won an Outstanding Young Researcher Presentation Award at the Root Research Meeting
A collaborative study on the responses of amphibious plants to submergence was published in New Phytologist
A paper on cell enlargement in succulent leaves was selected for the cover of Journal of Plant Research
A paper on the morphogenesis of the caudate (tail-like) leaf tip was selected for the cover of The Plant Journal
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates how leaves are formed from two angles: the action of genes and the behavior of cells. Building on findings from model plants, it also explores how the diverse leaf shapes seen in nature have evolved.
*Illustrative imageGenes that determine leaf shape
The lab has been identifying groups of genes that control the length, width, and thickness of Arabidopsis leaves. It is now working to fill the large gap that remains between genes and concrete shapes.
*Illustrative imageHow leaf size is determined
Organ size control is critically important for multicellular organisms. In plant leaves, when cell proliferation is impaired, cells grow larger to make up for it, a phenomenon called compensation. The lab is working to solve the mystery of this mechanism.
*Illustrative imageEvo-devo of leaf diversity
Leaves in nature are remarkably diverse, and there are many examples of specialized leaves not seen in Arabidopsis mutants. Building on findings from model plants, the lab aims to uncover the evolutionary mechanisms behind specialized leaf shapes.
*Illustrative imageAdaptive evolution of aquatic plant leaves
The leaves of aquatic plants adapted to waterside environments have various adaptive traits, including heterophylly. Using plants of the genus Callitriche, the lab is working to elucidate the evolutionary mechanisms of these traits.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, doctoral and master's students, research fellows, project researchers, academic specialist staff, a secretary, and visiting collaborative researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorHirokazu TsukayaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorHiroyuki KogaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorHokuto NakayamaPublications ↗
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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: “Leaf venation of Dorstenia” SebastianBlumeArt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Genes that determine leaf shape: “Arabidopsis thal background” Reo On / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How leaf size is determined: “Leaf epidermis” Louisa Howard (Dartmouth electron microscope facility) / Public domain (cropped)
- Evo-devo of leaf diversity: “Variable leaf shapes, Jatropha variifolia” Ton Rulkens / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Adaptive evolution of aquatic plant leaves: “Callitriche palustris Bytom” Gower / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (植物生理学研究室): “Marchantia polymorpha - Common Liverwort 03” Jasper Shide / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (三浦研究室): “FMIB 51570 Tide-pools of Misaki The Misaki Biological Station, from the north side” David Starr Jordan / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (種子田研究室): “Nikko” Ka23 13 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (川北篤研究室): “Bunkyou Koishikawa Botanical Greenhouse 1” 京浜にけ / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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