MOLECULAR BIOREGULATION RESEARCH TEAM

THEME 01

Chemical Control of Plant Reproduction

We aim to accelerate both breeding and basic research by using chemical approaches to control plant reproduction and flowering, thereby reducing the time constraints associated with crossing.

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THEME 02

Precise Control of Plant Hormone Signaling

By combining the bump-hole approach for receptor engineering with ligand design, we develop novel technologies to control hormone functions at the receptor level.

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THEME 03

Mechanisms and Control of Chloroplast Degradation

We investigate the mechanisms underlying chloroplast degradation and seek to improve crop yield and quality through artificial regulation of this process.

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Increasing food production is an urgent challenge for a sustainable society, yet it is hindered by various factors, including climate change. Our research team tackles this challenge through both chemistry and biology. Using rational molecular design and the screening of chemical libraries, we create new molecules that control the physiological functions of plants. With these molecules, we identify key genes for stable food production and provide optimal ways to control plant growth in diverse agricultural settings. By advancing this interdisciplinary research, we seek clues toward solving global challenges that conventional approaches have left unanswered, while pioneering new fields of research.

1. Precision control of plant hormone signaling with synthetic molecules

Plant hormones — auxin, strigolactone, gibberellin, cytokinin, brassinosteroid, and others — govern plant growth and environmental responses. We aim to manipulate the hormone signals on demand using synthetic molecules. By designing engineered ligand–receptor pairs based on the three-dimensional structures of native receptors, we hijack endogenous signaling pathways to trigger specific hormone responses. This precision toolkit forms the molecular foundation of our research.

2. Understanding and controlling plant biology with chemical tools

We develop bespoke chemical tools to see, measure, and move what happens inside plants. Fluorescent probes that bind hormone receptors, quantitative assays for protein–protein interactions, and dye palettes that illuminate subcellular compartments are designed and synthesized in-house. We then deploy these tools to dissect signal transduction, autophagy-mediated quality control of organelles, and the regulation of cell fate. The mechanistic understanding we gain feeds directly back into the design of next-generation molecules that can perturb these processes precisely.

3. Plant chemical biology for the field

Our ultimate goal is to deliver the molecules and knowledge born in the laboratory to agricultural practice in the real world. Selective control agents for the parasitic weed Striga — a major threat to food production in sub-Saharan Africa — small molecules that accelerate plant breeding, and chemical tools for diagnosing crop quality: through such "molecules that work in the field," we aim to harness the power of chemistry to build a sustainable food future.

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Team Director

Shinya Hagihara

Plant chemical biology / Plant hormone signaling control (small molecules) / Overall team management

Senior Research Scientist

Masanori Izumi

Chloroplast degradation (autophagy) / Chlorophagy / Plant bioimaging

Senior Research Scientist

Shuhei Kusano

Organic synthetic chemistry / Chemical biology (development of chemical tools)

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We are recruiting graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to join our chemical biology research on plants. We welcome applicants from chemistry (molecular design and synthesis), molecular biology, cell biology, bioinformatics, and related fields. Regardless of prior specialization, we encourage anyone with curiosity and enthusiasm for research to apply.

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