LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Cell Engineering Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab works on everything from discovering useful plant genes to producing useful substances and developing genome editing.
AboutAbout the lab
Making effective use of plant genetic resources.
The lab studies plant cells at the molecular and cellular levels, with the aim of elucidating, regulating, and utilizing their functions.
By making effective use of plant genetic resources, the lab aims to improve health, increase food production, and protect the environment.
Its research rests on three pillars: discovering useful genes, producing useful substances through synthetic biology, and developing genome editing technology for plants.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "Seki Lab."
Key terms
- Terpenoids
- A family of natural compounds made by plants. This lab works on those that are attracting attention as raw materials for pharmaceuticals.
- Synthetic biology
- Research that introduces plant-derived enzyme genes into microorganisms or plants and reconstructs biosynthetic pathways, with the aim of producing useful natural products.
- Genome editing
- A technology that uses artificial nucleases such as TALEN and CRISPR/Cas to introduce mutations at specific sites in the genome.
- Hairy roots
- Roots grown by tissue culture. They grow quickly and their genes are easy to modify.
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Biotechnology, Japan
Associate Professor Hikaru Seki was promoted to Professor, and the Seki Lab was established
A paper by doctoral students and others on genome editing of licorice hairy roots was published in Plant and Cell Physiology
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to make effective use of plant genetic resources, the lab currently pursues research under three main themes. Its work ranges from discovering genes for plant terpenoids, which are attracting attention as raw materials for pharmaceuticals, to producing substances and using genome editing to give crops useful traits.
*Illustrative imageDiscovering useful genes
Using genome and transcriptome analysis and bioinformatics, the lab searches for useful genes involved in the biosynthesis of plant terpenoids. It has identified the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of glycyrrhizin, the medicinal component of licorice.
*Illustrative imageProducing substances through synthetic biology
The lab introduces plant-derived enzyme genes into microorganisms and plants to reconstruct biosynthetic pathways, with the aim of producing useful natural products. In genome-edited licorice hairy roots, it has become possible to analyze gene function and to produce substances by modifying metabolism.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping genome editing technology for plants
Using artificial nucleases such as TALEN and CRISPR/Cas, the lab introduces mutations into plant genomes, aiming to give crops useful traits by modifying metabolic pathways and other means. It has succeeded in creating potatoes with greatly reduced levels of toxic components such as solanine.
MembersFaculty
The members of the lab are faculty, project researchers, technical assistants, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, special research students, and visiting professors, associate professors, and researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorHikaru Seki
- Associate ProfessorKeita Tamura
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Cell Engineering Lab
![Image of research at Molecular Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]](/img/fcf5247615fdc974-800.webp)
Molecular Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]Faculty of Engineering, Department of Applied Natural SciencesExtremophile microbes growing in extreme environments (high …![Image of research at Bio-Information Measurement Lab [Graduate School of Information Science and Technology]](/img/485b5844741002ae-638.webp)
Bio-Information Measurement Lab [Graduate School of Information Science and Technology]Faculty of Engineering, Department of Applied Natural SciencesThe Department of Biological Information Measurement began i…![Image of research at Applied Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]](/img/3b09aca33ef29fac-800.webp)
Applied Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]Faculty of Engineering, Department of Applied Natural SciencesDevelopment of therapeutic protein production technologies i…
Organometallic Chemistry LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of Applied Natural SciencesSynthesis and application of transition metal complexes with…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Plant tissue culture sample” Syed Sajidul Islam / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Discovering useful genes: “Medicinal herbs garden hospital” User:Mattes / Public domain (cropped)
- Producing substances through synthetic biology: “Synthetic Biology Research at NASA Ames” Alexander van Dijk from San Francisco, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Developing genome editing technology for plants: “CAS 4qyz” Thomas Splettstoesser (www.scistyle.com) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]): “Hot spring in Yellowstone” Jon Sullivan / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Bio-Information Measurement Lab [Graduate School of Information Science and Technology]): “Thermo - Finnigan LCQ Mass Spectrometer ( )” Kitmondo Marketplace / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Applied Microbiology Lab [International Center for Biotechnology]): “CSIRO ScienceImage 10928 NCRIS Recombinant Protein Production Facility 01” Morgan Brown, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Organometallic Chemistry Lab): “(benzene)chromium-tricarbonyl-from-xtal-1987-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.