Our laboratory is dedicated to understanding the developmental principles of guard cells located on the epidermis of plants. Each pair of guard cells forms a stoma, which is essential for both photosynthesis and transpiration, thereby playing a crucial role in plant growth and survival. The environmental challenges we face, such as increased carbon dioxide levels, rising temperatures, and droughts, also pose threats to plants. These environmental changes lead to alterations in the physiological responses and development of guard cells, significantly impacting plant health and survival. This, in turn, poses risks to the atmosphere we breathe, our environment, and our food sources. Therefore, by exploring the intrinsic developmental program that maintains the density, size, shape, and distribution of guard cells, as well as their interactions with changing cellular and environmental signals, we aim to develop strategies that improve plant productivity and mitigate the effects of climate change. We are currently focusing on the following topics: 

• Epigenetic mechanisms that induce reprogramming from proliferation to differentiation during stomata development

• Cell cycle regulators and their environmental interactions that control the developmental plasticity of epidermal cells 

• The function of non-coding regulatory RNAs related to development changes due to intrinsic factors or environmental influences in stomatal development