Metabolic network biology Lab

Apr 24, 2023

We're excited to announce the launch of our new website!

https://www.metabolic-network-biology-lab.com/

June 22, 2022

Published Matsui et al. "Ethanol induces heat tolerance in plants by stimulating unfolded protein response", Plant Mol Biol (2022) [Paper] [Press release in Japanese]

June 24, 2021

Published Aono et al. "High-Throughput Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Profiling Reveals Positive Associations with Sugar and Apocarotenoid Volatile Content in Fruits of Tomato Varieties in Modern and Wild Accessions", Metabolites (2021) [Paper] [Press release in Japanese]

Sep 7, 2020

Press release: Mutant Tomato Helps to Crack the Secrets of Fruiting [Paper]

Aug 5, 2020

Published Utsumi et al. "Integrative omics approaches revealed a crosstalk among phytohormones during tuberous root development in cassava", Plant Mol Biol (2020) [Paper]  [Press release in Japanese]

June 9, 2020

Press release: Using multiomics in an agricultural field, scientists discover that organic nitrogen plays a key role in plant growth [Paper]

June 15, 2020

Published Shukurova et al. "Profiling of Volatile Organic Compounds in Wild Indigenous Medicinal Ginger (Zingiber barbatum Wall.) from Myanmar", Metabolites (2020) [Paper]

Feb 18, 2020

Published Maruyama et al. "Metabolite/phytohormone-gene regulatory networks in soybean organs under dehydration conditions revealed by integration analysis", Plant J (2020) [Paper]

Feb 17, 2020

Published Kusano et al. "Cytosolic GLUTAMINE SYNTHETASE1;1 Modulates Metabolism and Chloroplast Development in Roots", Plant Physiol (2020) [Paper]

Feb 14, 2020

Published Fukushima et al. "Metabolite and Phytohormone Profiling Illustrates Metabolic Reprogramming as an Escape Strategy of Deepwater Rice during Partially Submerged Stress", Metabolites (2020) [Paper]

Human has a long and intimate association with plants to maintain life. Plants have great and specific ability to produce primary metabolites by assimilating inorganic compounds such as carbon dioxide, ammonium, sulfur and phosphate. Plants can produce secondary metabolites by metabolizing primary metabolites to survive their growing environmental conditions. Secondary metabolites are not always necessary for human life, but they can give us benefit for hearth and cosmetics. Such metabolites are called as “specialized metabolites.”

We aim to investigate a linkage of biological events and metabolic regulations in complex metabolic networks in plants. Our laboratory is applying an integrative approach with large-scale experiments, so-called ‘omics’ data including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Rapid technological advances in high-throughput experiment based on mass spectrometry (MS) have enabled us to simultaneously detect a wide range of small molecules, while the use of RNA sequencing as well as microarray techniques provides comprehensive information at the transcript changes.

[Current Research topics]

Integrated “Omics” analysis of model plants, crops, vegetables and foods

• Organic carbon (C) and organic nitrogen (N) balance in central metabolism

• Metabolic regulation toward environmental differences in plants

Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiling in plants and environments

• Fruit flavor

• Sakura

• Soil

Quantification and/or qualification of metabolite composition associated with important metabolic traits

• lettuce

• coffee

1. Integrated “OmicS” analysis of model plants, crops, vegetables and foods 

• Organic carbon (C) and organic nitrogen (N) balance in central metabolism

• Evaluation of metabolite composition using multi-MS based metabolite profiling

• Metabolic network biology using “omics” datasets

2. Development of analytical methods to capture quantitative and qualitative changes of metabolite levels in organisms

• Volatile organic compound profiling

• High-throughput screening for important metabolic traits

[Official title]

  Professor 

  Ph.D.（Agriculture）

[Laboratory] 

  Metabolic Network Biology Laboratory 

[Research area] 

  Metabolomics, Systems Biology, Natural Product Chemistry

[Education] 

  2000 Ph.D. Tottori University, Japan

[Work Experience]

  2000-2002 Posdoc, Akita Prefectural University

  2002-2004 Posdoc, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

  2004-2005 Posdoc, Ehime Women's College

  2005-2012 Research scientist, RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC)

  2012-2013 Senior research scientist, RIKEN PSC

  2013-2014 Senior research scientist, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS)

  2014-present Professor, University of Tsukuba

[Recent publications (see below)]

  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0052-6155

  Publons: https://publons.com/researcher/1592587/miyako-kusano/

  Loop: https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/26119/overview

  researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/miku-met013/?lang=english

  TRIOS: https://trios.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/researcher/0000003575

  Google Scholar

[CONTACT]

  Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan

  (tel)  +81-29-853-4809　　(e-mail) Kusano.Miyako.fp [AT] u.tsukuba.ac.jp