1. Mechanisms how to accumulate various metals in plants
2. Interaction between plant cell wall matrix and metals (metalloides)
3. Signaling mechanisms working in the organ to organ interactions in plants


1. Mechanisms how to accumulate various metals in plants

Our aims
- Identification of individual metal accumulation mechanisms
Uptake at the root, Loading to the xylem vessels, Transport to the shoot, Allocation in the tissue, Localization in the cell, …
- Integration of individual metal accumulation mechanisms
Common mechanisms for metal transport, Synchronization of complex mechanisms, …
How to study
- Metallomic (Ionomic) approach
Radioisotopes, Neutron Activation Analysis, ICP-AES, Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, …
- Genomic approach
Model plants, Genetically identified resources, …
- Experimental plants
Arabidopsis thaliana, Lotus japonicus, Populus maximowiczii, …


MATSUOKA, Keita
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
Regulation of gene expressions related to iron-uptake mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana

KIKUTA, Masahiro
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
Annual expression profile of potassium transporter in poplar

NODA, Hiroki
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
Mechanisms for cesium uptake, transport and accumulation in land plant



2. Interaction between plant cell wall matrix and metals (metalloids)

Our aims
- Identification of binding mode of cell wall matrix and metals (metalloids)
Apoplast protein and toxic aluminum ion, Cell wall matrix components and silicons, …
- Understanding the plant responses in the cell wall to the toxic levels of metals
Enzymatic responses to the aluminum ions, …
How to study
- Cell wall matrix fractionation approach
Analysis of sugar composition, Differential display, Mass spectrometry, …
- Reverse genetic approach
T-DNA insertion lines, Gene overexpressions, …
- Experimental plants
Oryza sativa, Glycine max, Arabidopsis thaliana, …



Publications		 YAMAMOTO, Tsuyoshi
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
(JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists)
Interaction between rice cell wall matrix component and silicon



3. Signaling mechanisms working in the organ to organ interactions in plants

Our aims
- Identification of the intercellular messengers

　　　　　　　Mineral deficiency, Dormancy cycle, …

　　　　- Understanding the mechanisms how to send and how to receive the intercellular messengers

　　　　　　　Ion homeostasis, Intracellular messengers, Transcription factors, …

How to study

　　　　- Transcriptomic approach

　　　　　　　Model plants, Microarray, Quantitative RT-PCR, …

　　　　- Proteomic approach

　　　　　　　Differential display, Mass spectrometry, Recombinant protein, …

　　　　- Metabolomic approach

　　　　　　　Differential display, Mass spectrometry, …

- Experimental plants
　　　 Arabidopsis thaliana, Lotus japonicus, Populus maximowiczii, …
MATSUOKA, Keita
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
Regulation of gene expressions related to iron-uptake mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana

KIKUTA, Masahiro
Graduate School of
Life and Environmental Sciences
Annual expression profile of potassium transporter in poplar


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