Takashi Murata is a researcher of plant cell biology. He works in Kanagawa Institute for Technology (KAIT) as a professor.
Research interest:
Murata is interested in organization of plant cells. He got a Dr. Science degree in Wada lab of Tokyo Metropolitan University in 1991, on microtubule organization in fern protonemal cells. He is skilled with various microscopic techniques, including confocal microscopy, two-photon microscopy and electron microscopy.
History:
After getting a doctoral degree, Murata worked in University of Tokyo as a assistant professor. In 2001, he moved to Hasebe lab in National Institute for Basic Biology. In 2005, he published a paper on mechanism of microtubule formation in plant cells. Because lack of the microtubule nucleation organelle centrosomes, mechanism of microtubule formation in the plant cells was unclear. In the paper, microtubule-dependent microtubule formation (that is, microtubule branching) was clearly demonstrated. The microtubule branching is now introduced in a figure in the textbook of plant physiology and developmental biology.
In 2020, Murata moved to Kanagawa institute for Technology, and started a independent lab. He started a new research project on morphogenesis of conjugation algae, such as Closterium and Micrasterias.
Community:
Murata is a member of Botanical Society of Japan (BSJ), Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists, and Japanese Society for Cell Biology.
Murata also contributes as a member of Guest Editors of The Plant Cell.