The University of Tokyo · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Tadao Asami's research lab specializes in plant hormone biology, with a primary focus on brassinosteroids (BRs) and their regulatory mechanisms in plant growth and development. The lab investigates synthetic chemical regulators, particularly brassinazole, to dissect BR biosynthesis pathways and identify key enzymatic steps. By employing chemical biology approaches, the lab uncovers molecular targets and signaling dynamics of plant hormones, contributing to both fundamental plant biology and biotechnological applications. Their work also extends to the development and application of chemical tools for manipulating plant growth, including dwarfism induction and hormone pathway dissection in diverse species.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Screening for brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitors was performed to find chemicals that induce dwarfism in Arabidopsis, mutants that resembled BR biosynthesis mutants that can be rescued by BR. Through this screening experiment, the compound brassinazole was selected as the most potent chemical. In dark-grown Arabidopsis, brassinazole-induced morphological changes were nearly restored to those of wild type by treatment with brassinolide. The structure of brassinazole is similar to pacrob
Brassinazole, a synthetic chemical developed in our laboratory, is a triazole-type brassinosteroid biosynthesis inhibitor that induces dwarfism in various plant species. The target sites of brassinazole were investigated by chemical analyses of endogenous brassinosteroids (BRs) in brassinazole-treated Catharanthus roseus cells. The levels of castasterone and brassinolide in brassinazole-treated plant cells were less than 6% of the levels in untreated cells. In contrast, campestanol and 6-oxocamp
Plant hormones are small molecules that play versatile roles in regulating plant growth, development, and responses to the environment. Classic methodologies, including genetics, analytic chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, have contributed to the progress in plant hormone studies. In addition, chemical regulators of plant hormone functions have been important in such studies. Today, synthetic chemicals, including plant growth regulators, are used to study and manipulate biological s
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