The University of Tokyo · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Naoki Sato's research lab focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying organelle genome maintenance and lipid metabolism in photosynthetic eukaryotes, particularly in plants and algae. The lab investigates plastid DNA binding proteins, such as PEND, and the biogenesis of nucleoids in chloroplasts, as well as the subcellular pathways and enzymes involved in the synthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in plastid membranes. Additionally, the lab explores the regulation of fatty acid desaturation in response to environmental stresses like temperature shifts, emphasizing the roles of light, oxygen, and protein synthesis. These studies contribute to understanding the evolutionary and physiological adaptations of photosynthetic organisms at the molecular level.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Abstract Statistical features of quasi-stationary planetary waves were examined on the subtropical jet in the midsummer Northern Hemisphere by using objectively analyzed data and satellite data. As a result, a quasi-stationary wave train that is highly correlated with the midsummer climate over Japan was identified. A clear phase dependency of the appearance of waves was also confirmed. An analysis of temporal evolution and wave activity flux revealed that the eastward propagation of the wave pa
The acyl lipids making up the plastid membranes in plants and algae are highly enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids and are synthesized by two distinct pathways, known as the prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathways, which are located within the plastids and the endoplasmic reticulum, respectively. Here we report the results of biochemical as well as genomic analyses of lipids and fatty acids in the unicellular rhodophyte Cyanidioschyzon merolae. All of the glycerolipids usually found in photosynt
Plastid nucleoids are known to bind to the envelope membrane in developing chloroplasts. Here, plastid DNA is extensively replicated. We previously detected a DNA binding protein in the inner envelope membranes of developing plastids in pea and named it PEND (for plastid envelope DNA binding) protein. In this study, we report on the structure and molecular characterization of a cDNA for the PEND protein. As a result of screening cDNA libraries in lambdagt11 with one of the target sequences of th
Plastids and mitochondria possess their own genomes. Although the replication mechanisms of these organellar genomes remain unclear in photosynthetic eukaryotes, several organelle-localized enzymes related to genome replication, including DNA polymerase, DNA primase, DNA helicase, DNA topoisomerase, single-stranded DNA maintenance protein, DNA ligase, primer removal enzyme, and several DNA recombination-related enzymes, have been identified. In the reference Eudicot plant Arabidopsis thaliana, t
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