Metabolic Network Biology LAB.

植物が有する潜在能力を代謝から科学する

OUR LAB AT A GLANCE

Human has a long and intimate association with plants to maintain life. Plants have great and specific ability to produce primary metabolites by assimilating inorganic compounds such as carbon dioxide, ammonium, sulfur and phosphate. Plants can produce secondary metabolites by metabolizing primary metabolites to survive their growing environmental conditions. Secondary metabolites are not always necessary for human life, but they can give us benefit for hearth and cosmetics. Such metabolites are called as “specialized metabolites.”

We aim to investigate a linkage of biological events and metabolic regulations in complex metabolic networks in plants. Our laboratory is applying an integrative approach with large-scale experiments, so-called ‘omics’ data including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Rapid technological advances in high-throughput experiment based on mass spectrometry (MS) have enabled us to simultaneously detect a wide range of small molecules, while the use of RNA sequencing as well as microarray techniques provides comprehensive information at the transcript changes.

[Current Research topics]

Integrated “Omics” analysis of model plants, crops, vegetables and foods

  • Organic carbon (C) and organic nitrogen (N) balance in central metabolism
  • Metabolic regulation toward environmental differences in plants

Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiling in plants and environments

  • Fruit flavor
  • Sakura
  • Soil

Quantification and/or qualification of metabolite composition associated with important metabolic traits

  • lettuce
  • coffee

Scientific interest of our laboratory

We aim to uncover how plants regulate metabolite production for the survival of their life

CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS

１：INTEGRATED “OMICS” ANALYSIS OF MODEL PLANTS, CROPS, VEGETABLES AND FOODS

  • Organic carbon (C) and organic nitrogen (N) balance in central metabolism
  • Evaluation of metabolite composition using multi-MS based metabolite profiling
  • Metabolic network biology using “omics” datasets

2：DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL METHODS TO CAPTURE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE CHANGES OF METABOLITE LEVELS IN ORGANISMS

  • Volatile organic compound profiling
  • High-throughput screening for important metabolic traits

PROFILE – PROF. MIYAKO KUSANO

筑波大学Metabolic Network Biology LAB (MNBL) : 教授　草野　都

[Official title]

Professor
Ph.D.（Agriculture）

[Laboratory]

Metabolic Network Biology Laboratory

[Research area]

Metabolomics, Systems Biology, Natural Product Chemistry

[Education]

2000 Ph.D. Tottori University, Japan

[Work Experience]

2000-2002 Posdoc, Akita Prefectural University
2002-2004 Posdoc, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
2004-2005 Posdoc, Ehime Women’s College
2005-2012 Research scientist, RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC)
2012-2013 Senior research scientist, RIKEN PSC
2013-2014 Senior research scientist, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS)
2014-present Professor, University of Tsukuba

[Recent publications (see below)]

[CONTACT]

Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan

(tel) +81-29-853-4809
(e-mail) Kusano.Miyako.fp [AT] u.tsukuba.ac.jp

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