Nagoya University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Keiko U. Torii's research lab focuses on the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying plant development, particularly the regulation of organ morphogenesis and stomatal patterning in *Arabidopsis thaliana*. Her work centers on receptor-like kinases, such as the ERECTA family, which play key roles in controlling cell fate decisions, cell proliferation, and tissue patterning in the shoot apical meristem and epidermis. The lab integrates molecular genetics, live imaging, and mathematical modeling to dissect signaling networks that coordinate cell-cell communication and transcriptional regulation during stomatal lineage development. They also investigate how developmental decisions are balanced between different epidermal cell types, such as stomata, pavement cells, and trichomes, through shared and competing gene regulatory circuits.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Arabidopsis Landsberg erecta is one of the most popular ecotypes and is used widely for both molecular and genetic studies. It harbors the erecta (er) mutation, which confers a compact inflorescence, blunt fruits, and short petioles. We have identified five er mutant alleles from ecotypes Columbia and Wassilewskija. Phenotypic characterization of the mutant alleles suggests a role for the ER gene in regulating the shape of organs originating from the shoot apical meristem. We cloned the ER gene,
Coordinated spacing and patterning of stomata allow efficient gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. Here we report that three ERECTA (ER)-family leucine-rich repeat-receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) together control stomatal patterning, with specific family members regulating the specification of stomatal stem cell fate and the differentiation of guard cells. Loss-of-function mutations in all three ER-family genes cause stomatal clustering. Genetic interactions with a known stomatal pat
Keiko U. Torii, Norihiro Mitsukawa, Teruko Oosumi, Yutaka Matsuura, Ryusuke Yokoyama, Robert F. Whittier, Yoshibumi Komeda, The Arabidopsis ERECTA Gene Encodes a Putative Receptor Protein Kinase with Extracellular Leucine-Rich Repeats, The Plant Cell, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Apr., 1996), pp. 735-746
Stomata are microscopic pores on the surface of land plants used for gas and water vapor exchange. A pair of highly specialized guard cells surround the pore and adjust pore size. Studies in Arabidopsis have revealed that cell-cell communication is essential to coordinate the asymmetric cell divisions required for proper stomatal patterning. Initial research in this area identified signaling molecules that negatively regulate stomatal differentiation. However, genes promoting cell-fate transitio
Stomata, valves on the plant epidermis, are critical for plant growth and survival, and the presence of stomata impacts the global water and carbon cycle. Although transcription factors and cell-cell signaling components regulating stomatal development have been identified, it remains unclear as to how their regulatory interactions are translated into two-dimensional patterns of stomatal initial cells. Using molecular genetics, imaging, and mathematical simulation, we report a regulatory circuit
Here, I review the mechanisms of stomatal development in the context of epidermal tissue patterning. First, I introduce the core regulatory mechanisms of stomatal patterning and differentiation in the model species A. thaliana. Subsequently, experimental evidence is presented supporting the idea that different cell types within the leaf epidermis, namely stomata, hydathodes pores, pavement cells and trichomes, either share developmental origins or mutually influence each other's gene regulatory
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