We start an independent research group at 2020 in Kanagawa Institute of Technology. Before starting the lab, the principle investigator Takashi Murata worked in Hasebe lab, National Institute for Basic Biology, for about 20 years, and got skills of molecular, cellular and plant biology. Our lab is very young, and we update everydays!
Plant cells have unique cytoskeletal organization in mitosis and cytokinesis as well as in interphase. Mitotic spindles are formed in the absence of centrosomes, and the daughter cells are partitioned by the cell plate, which develops in the cytokinetic apparatus phragmoplast. We think that the key innovation in plant cells is flexible organization of microtubules in the absence of the centrosomes. We analyze the mechanism of microtubule organization in plant cells.
The unique cellular organization of the plant cells is likely acquired in the common ancestor of land plants and charophytic green algae. The Zygnematales algae, including Spirogyra and Closterium, is the closest group with the land plants. One of the group Micrasterias has a unique branching patterns. We focus Closterium and Micrasterias as a model system of evolution in cellular morphogenesis.
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murata(at)bio.kanagawa-it.ac.jp