Plant Productivity Systems Research Group
Group Director
Hitoshi SAKAKIBARA (Ph.D.)
Plants synthesize a variety of organic compounds through photosynthesis and unique metabolic pathways. Numerous metabolic processes are involved in plant productivity, such as an efficient photosynthetic capacity, effective transport, and the storage of biosynthesized products. We have conducted research and development on production control aimed at effectively utilizing plant resources that aid in the production of useful biomaterials and energy. On the basis of plant hormone research, we are conducting studies to understand systems involved in plant productivity, sink-source regulation, and effective material transport, as well as R&D on techniques aimed at productivity control. We hope to utilize various genomic functions of model plants and comparative studies on genomes as a foundation for the production of more and better crops and trees.
- Identification of key genes regulating agronomical traits improving crop productivity
- Functional analysis of key genes regulating plant productivity, especially enzymes involved in cytokinin biosynthesis and metabolism
- Development of clean-up technology of heavy metal pollutants using bryophyte
- Identidfication of key genes in agricultural traits using high-throughput hormone analysis system
- January 11, 2012
- Mechanism of Efficient Nitrate Uptake under Low External Supply in Arabidopsis Revealed
- July 4, 2011
- A New Role for Cytokinin Plant Hormones
- Kiba, T., Feria-Bourrellier, A.-B., Lafouge, F., Lezhneva, L., Boutet-Mercey, S., Orsel, M., Bréhaut, V., Miller, A., Daniel-Vedele, F., Sakakibara, H. and Krapp, A.:
" The Arabidopsis nitrate transporter NRT2.4 plays a double role in roots and shoots of nitrogen-starved plants."
Plant Cell 24: doi:10.1105/tpc.111.092221. (2012) - Tokunaga，H., Kojima, M., Kuroha, T., Ishida, T., Sugimoto, K., Kiba, T. and Sakakibara, H.:
" Arabidopsis lonely guy (LOG) multiple mutants reveal a central role of the LOG-dependent pathway in cytokinin activation."
Plant J. 69: 355-365 (2012) - Nakamichi, N., Kiba, T., Henriques, R., Mizuno, T., Chua, N.-H. and Sakakibara, H.:
" PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORS 9, 7 and 5 are transcriptional repressors in the Arabidopsis circadian clock."
Plant Cell 22: 594-605 (2010) - Kuroha, T., Tokunaga, H., Kojima, M., Ueda, N., Ishida, T., Nagawa, S., Fukuda, H., Sugimoto-Shirasu, K. and Sakakibara, H.:
" Functional analyses of LONELY GUY cytokinin-activating enzymes reveal the importance of the direct activation pathway in Arabidopsis"
Plant Cell 21: 3152-3169 (2009) - Kojima, M., Kamada-Nobusada, T., Komatsu, H., Takei, K., Kuroha, T., Mizutani, M., Ashikari, M., Ueguchi-Tanaka, M., Matsuoka, M., Suzuki, K. and Sakakibara, H.:
" High-throughput and high-sensitive analysis of plant hormones using MS-probe modification and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: an application for hormone profiling in Oryza sativa"
Plant Cell Physiol. 50: 1201-1214 (2009) - Sugawara, H., Ueda, N., Kojima, M., Makita, N., Yamaya, T. and Sakakibara, H.:
" Structural insight into the reaction mechanism and evolution of cytokinin biosynthesis"
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105: 2734-2739 (2008) - Kurakawa, T., Ueda, N., Maekawa, M., Kobayashi, K., Kojima, M., Nagato, Y., Sakakibara, H. and Kyozuka, J.:
" Direct control of shoot meristem activity by a cytokinin activating enzyme"
Nature 445: 652-655 (2007) - Sakakibara, H.:
" Cytokinins: Activity, biosynthesis and translocation"
Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 57: 431-449 (2006) - Sakakibara, H., Takei, K., and Hirose, N.:
" Interactions between nitrogen and cytokinin in the regulation of metabolism and development"
Trends in Plant Science 11: 440-448 (2006) - Ashikari, M., Sakakibara, H., Lin, S.-Y., Yamamoto, T., Takashi, T., Nishimura, A., Angeles, E. R., Qian, Q., Kitano, H. and Matsuoka, M.:
" Cytokinin oxidase regulates rice grain production"
Science, 309: 741-745 (2005)
Principal Investigator
- Hitoshi SAKAKIBARA
- Group Director
Members
- Misao ITOUGA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Takatoshi KIBA
- Research Scientist
- Tomoe NOBUSADA
- Research Scientist
- Mikiko KOJIMA
- Technical Scientist
- Toru KUDO
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Toshihisa NOMURA
- Visiting Researcher
- Radhika VENKATESAN
- Visiting Researcher
- Hiroki TOKUNAGA
- Junior Research Associate
- Nanae MORI
- Technical Staff
- Nobue MAKITA
- Technical Staff
- Yukari KATO
- Technical Staff