Hokkaido University · Earth and Planetary Sciences
Professor Toshiki Uji's research lab specializes in marine algal biology, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms regulating reproduction and development in red and brown macroalgae. The lab investigates plant hormone signaling—particularly ethylene precursors like ACC—beyond their classical roles, revealing novel regulatory pathways in sexual reproduction. They also pioneer genetic tools, such as codon-optimized selection markers, to enable stable nuclear transformation in economically and ecologically important species like *Pyropia yezoensis*. Additionally, the lab explores extracellular matrix proteins and their roles in cell communication and life cycle regulation, using bioinformatics and transcriptomic approaches.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
The transition from the vegetative to sexually reproductive phase is the most dynamic change to occur during a plant's life cycle. In the present study, we showed that the ethylene precursor 1-aminocylopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) induces sexual reproduction in the marine red alga <i>Pyropia yezoensis</i> independently from ethylene. Exogenous application of ACC, which contains a three membered carbocyclic ring, promoted the formation of spermatia and carporspores in gametophytes, whereas eth
Marine macroalgae play an important role in marine coastal ecosystems and are widely used as sea vegetation foodstuffs and for industrial purposes. Therefore, there have been increased demands for useful species and varieties of these macroalgae. However, genetic transformation in macroalgae has not yet been established. We have developed a dominant selection marker for stable nuclear transformation in the red macroalga Pyropia yezoensis. We engineered the coding region of the aminoglycoside pho
Seaweeds or macroalgae are important primary producers that serve as a habitat for functioning ecosystems. A sustainable production of macroalgae has been maintained by a diverse range of life cycles. Reproduction is the most dynamic change to occur during its life cycle, and it is a key developmental event to ensure the species' survival. There is gradually accumulating evidence that plant hormones, such as abscisic acid and auxin, have a role on the sporogenesis of brown alga (<i>Saccharina ja
Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins play crucial roles in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. We identified homologous genes encoding ECM proteins that are known to associate with integrins in animal cells in red macroalga Neopyropia yezoensis. Four genes encoding spondin domain-containing proteins (NySPLs) and eight genes encoding fasciclin domain-containing proteins (NyFALs) from N. yezoensis were selected for bioinformatics and expression analysis in order to obtain insi
<i>Saccharina japonica</i>, a significant brown macroalga in the Pacific Ocean, serves as a food source and industrial material. In aquaculture, collecting mature sporophytes for seedling production is essential but challenging due to environmental changes. In this study, transcriptomic analysis of vegetative and sorus tissues was done to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and enhance our understanding of sorus formation regulation in <i>S. japonica</i>. KEGG pathway and Gene Otology
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