STAFF
Dr. Takumi HIGAKI
Professor, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology
- Research Fields
- Quantitative bioimaging, cell morphogenesis, cytoskeleton and organelles
Research interest
Actin filaments of plants
Actin, a protein that is ubiquitous in eukaryotes, forms actin filaments by its polymerization under physiological conditions. Actin filaments are deeply involved in cell morphological changes through formation of higher-order structures such as networks and bundles. In the case of plant cells in particular, actin filaments regulate various organelle dynamics. We aim for visible understanding of actin filament roles in cell division, cell expansion, and cell death, in which plant cell undergoes drastic changes.
Stomatal development and movement
The stomata on the plant leaf and stem surfaces is essential for plant survival because they are responsible for gaseous exchange and transpiration. The stomatal density and aperture is appropriately regulated in response to environmental cues. Using multiple approaches including biochemistry, molecular biology, live cell imaging, image analysis, and mathematical modeling, we aim for visible understanding of the multi-scale spatiotemporal control mechanism of plant stomata.
Image analysis tool development
When addressing problems in the cell biological studies described above, quantitative evaluations of cell structure and movement involving microscopic image analyses are essential. However, existing image analysis softwares are frequently insufficient. This is because the acquired image types and objectives are highly diversified in cell biology studies. For this reason, we are developing image analysis tools that would promote research progress from the standpoint of experimental cell biologists.
Awards
“The 6th CYTOLOGIA Encouragement Awards”
The Japan Mendel Society (December, 2020)
→NEWS
Achievement
- 2022
-
- Disease-associated H58Y mutation affects the nuclear dynamics of human DNA topoisomerase IIβ
- Machine learning and feature analysis of the cortical microtubule organization of Arabidopsis cotyledon pavement cells
- EML2-S constitutes a new class of proteins that recognizes and regulates the dynamics of tyrosinated microtubules
- Bone marrow imaging reveals the migration dynamics of neonatal hematopoietic stem cells
- Two-step regulation of centromere distribution by condensin II and the nuclear envelope proteins
- Two Kinesin-14A Motors Oligomerize to Drive Poleward Microtubule Convergence for Acentrosomal Spindle Morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana
- 2021
-
- Calcium signaling contributes to xylem vessel cell differentiation via post-transcriptional regulation of VND7 downstream events
- The boundary-expressed EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE2 gene encoding a signaling peptide promotes cotyledon growth during Arabidopsis thaliana embryogenesis
- PUCHI regulates giant cell morphology during root-knot nematode infection in Arabidopsis thaliana
- Wide-range segmentation of cotyledon epidermal cells for morphometrical analysis and mechanical simulation
- Metal-nano-ink coating for monitoring and quantification of cotyledon epidermal cell morphogenesis
- Environmental responses of the membrane trafficking factor PATROL1 in the Arabidopsis stomatal complex
- Phosphorylation of NONPHOTOTROPIC HYPOCOTYL3 affects photosensory adaptation during the phototropic response
- Dynamic rearrangement and directional migration of tubular vacuoles are required for the asymmetric division of the Arabidopsis zygote
- A three-dimensional scanning system for digital archiving and quantitative evaluation of Arabidopsis plant architectures
- Involvement of the membrane trafficking factor PATROL1 in the salinity stress tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana
- Discovery, characterization and functional improvement of kumamonamide as a novel plant growth inhibitor that disturbs plant microtubules
- Disruption of actin filaments delays accumulation of cell plate membranes after chromosome separation
- STAFF
-
- Jonas Karl N. AGUTAYA
- Prafulla Bahadur MALLA
- Reetu Rani
- Kei TODA
- Tomoyasu MANI
- Agus Pulung SASMITO
- Daniel P. ZITTERBART
- Mitsuhiro AIDA
- U Rajendra ACHARYA
- Dmitri Aleks MOLODOV
- László PUSZTAI
- Yufeng ZHENG
- Gaochuang CAI
- Masahiko FURUTANI
- Hiroki MATSUO
- Zhongyue ZHANG
- Takashi ISHIDA
- Takumi HIGAKI
- Takahiro HOSONO
- Kei ISHIDA
- Makiko KOBAYASHI
- Ruda LEE
- Yuta NAKASHIMA
- Shin-Ichi OHIRA
- Atsushi SAINOKI
- Mitsuru SASAKI
- Keitaro TAKAHASHI
- José E. ANDRADE
- Suttichai ASSABUMRUNGRAT
- Josep-Lluís BARONA-VILAR
- Jorge Norberto BELTRAMINI
- Pouyan BOUKANY
- Olivier BOUTIN
- Paul BOWEN
- Pierre BREUL
- Maria Jose COCERO
- Patrice DELMAS
- Martin DIENWIEBEL
- Martino DI SERIO
- Derek ELSWORTH
- Carolina ESCOBAR
- Amir A. FARAJIAN
- Mohammad FARD
- Bruno FAVERY
- Etsuko FUJITA
- Tomonari FURUKAWA
- Hamid GHANDEHARI
- Jens HARTMANN
- Ryushiro KASAHARA
- Ick Chan KWON
- Youn-Woo LEE
- Pavel LEJČEK
- Bo LIU
- Viren Ivor MENEZES
- Reiko ODA
- Shie-Ming PENG
- Christian RENTENBERGER
- Stelios RIGOPOULOS
- Parasuraman SELVAM
- Shirley SHEN
- Amir SI LARBI
- Konstantinos Daniel TSAVDARIDIS
- Gioacchino (Cino) VIGGIANI
- Thomas WAITZ
- Andrew WHITTLE
- Zhenghe XU
- Firuz ZARE
- Kazuki TAKASHIMA
