Anatomy and Structural Biology
Our laboratory is studying the three-dimensional structure of cell organelles using cryo-electron tomography and conventional transmission/scanning electron microscopy. We are particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms of ciliary/flagellar assembly and motility.
We developed a structural labeling method for cryo-electron tomography in 2013 (Oda and Kikkawa J. Struct. Biol 2013). Using this method, we are trying to complete a three-dimensional “jigsaw puzzle” of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagella by identifying the position of each flagellar protein. We are also investigating motile cilia of Trichoplax adhaerens and sensory cilia of Caenorhabditis elegans using conventional transmission/scanning electron microscopy.
Staff
| Ｎame | Title・Positions | Main Research Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Toshiyuki ODA | Professor | Electron microscopy of cilia |
| Tomohiro KUBO | Project Assistant Professor | Studies on the regulation of flagellar/ciliary motility by tubulin polyglutamylation |
| Hironori TAKAHASHI | Project Assistant Professor | Neuroscience of C. elegans with photons and electrons |
| Munetsugu BAN | Project Assistant Professor | Placozoa biology, Molecular evolution of lysozyme |