People

Our laboratory has a wide range of themes centered on plant molecular biology!

The various research themes of the faculty and students are described here.

Professor

Takeshi Izawa
a-izawa@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Interests

Floral Induction regulated by photoperiods, ambient temperature, and drought stree in rice
Yield regulation by fertilizer in rice
Rice domestication process study
Field transcriptome analysis in rice
Pangenome study, Conserved domain study

1986-1988 Master course: a study of actin genes in cuture cells of D.melanogaster ( supervised by Prof. Yoshiki Hotta)

Worked at Plantech Research Institute with Dr. Ko Shimamoto to establish rice transformation system (Shimamoto et al. 1989).

Two-year work at Nam-Hai Chua lab(The Rockerfeller Univ., NY, USA).

1994-2001 Assistant Prof. in NAIST (Shimamoto lab.)

2001-2016 Worked at NIAS(Tsukuba). Collaborations with Dr. Masahiro Yano.

2016- Professor in The Univ. of Tokyo.

I have worked on rice with many research themes at various institutions for more than thirty years.

Associate Professor　

Jun-ichi Itoh　
ajunito@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Interests

Study on mechanisms of control of plastochron in rice/barley
Genetic control of embryogenesis and meristem maintenance in rice
Studies on molecular genetics determining leaf morphology in rice
Analysis of the mechanism of water repellency in rice leaves

1995 Completed a bachelar degree

1997 Completed a master's degree

1999 Obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo

2000 Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

2001 Research Assistant at lab. plant breeding and genetics

2007 Assistant Professor

2009 Associate Professor

I have been working developmental and genetic mechanisms involved in rice morphogenesis, especially focusing on the core themes of plant developmental studies such as embryogenesis, meristem formation, and leaf development in rice.

Assistant Professor

Manaki Mimura

mmimura@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Interests

Studies of photoperiod and temperature response in rice floral induction
Analysis of molecular mechanism in rice plastochron regulation
Studies of cytoplasmic RNA granules involved in rice reproductive and developmental process

2015 Obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo. Genetic analysis among plastochron-related genes in rice.

2015.4~ Worked @ University of Florida, Horticultural Sciences Department

Analyses of vitamin B deficient mutant (maize and Arabidopsis) and small embryo mutant (maize).

2016.8~ Worked @ National Institute of Genetics, Plant Cytogenetics Lab

Analysis of cytoplasmic RNA granule involved in the regulation of rice mitosis-meiosis transition. A study of RNA-binding protein regulating plastochron in rice.

2021.11~ Present @ University of Tokyo

My research interest is plant morphogenesis and environmental response.

JSPS Research fellow (PD)　　

Shumpei Hashimoto

Research Theme

I want to unlock the secret of overdominance by utilizing molecular genetics, genome editing technology, and bioinformatics.

https://researchmap.jp/hashimoto_shumpei

Postdoctoral Research fellow　　

Erika Toda

Research Theme

My research interest is effects of parental imbalance and regulation by parental factors on development of rice zygotes. In addition, I also try to develop novel genome editing systems in rice.

Postdoctoral Research fellow　　

Ammar Elakhdar

Research Theme

My research focuses on the genetic regulation of flowering time in rice. Utilizing DNA-free genome editing, I contribute to developing non-flowering lines as an environmentally friendly approach to promote sustainable biomass production and advance to carbon-neutral agriculture.

PhD student　

Yifeng Ding　

Research Theme

My research focuses on the functional analysis of the cis-regulatory elements of the florigen gene in rice. Through the study of cis-regulatory elements, to better understand the regulation pathways of different factors on florigen.

Master's student

Takumi Kawauchi

Research Theme

Rice is a short-day plant whose flowering is strongly repressed under long-day conditions. Ghd7 is a major gene responsible for this repression, and my research focuses on elucidating its transcriptional regulation mechanisms.

Researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/takumi_kawauchi

Master's student

Kentaro Yamada

Research Theme

My research focuses on comparative genomic analysis of wild and cultivated rice. I believe that genetic approaches can provide valuable insights into the history of rice domestication.