Educational Activities

Plant Molecular Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology

Research Activities

1) Molecular basis supporting totipotency of plant cells
2) Roles for biopolymer dynamics in plant environmental responses

3) Molecular understanding and application of wood biomass biosynthesis

Literature

Selected Original Articles (*corresponding author)
1) Saelim L, Akiyoshi N, Tan TT, Ihara A, Yamaguchi M, Hirano K, Matsuoka M, *Demura T, *Ohtani M (2019) Arabidopsis Group IIId ERF proteins positively regulate primary cell wall-type CESA genes. J Plant Res 132: 117-129
2) Takenaka Y, Watanabe Y, Schuetz M, Unda F, Hill Jr JL, Phookaew P, Yoneda Y, Mansfield SD, Samuels L, *Ohtani M, *Demura T (2018) Patterned deposition of xylan and lignin is independent from that of the secondary wall cellulose of Arabidopsis xylem vessels. Plant Cell 30: 2663-2676
3) *Ohtani M#, Kawabe H#, *Demura T (2018) Evidence that thiol-based redox state is critical for xylem vessel cell differentiation. Plant Signal Behav 13: e1428512 (#contributed equally)
4) Kawabe H#, *Ohtani M#, Kurata T, Sakamoto T, *Demura T (2018) Protein S-nitrosylation regulates xylem vessel cell differentiation in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Physiol 59: 17-29 (#contributed equally)
5) Tan TT, Endo H, Sano R, Kurata T, Yamaguchi M, *Ohtani M, *Demura T (2018) Arabidopsis VND1-VND3 contribute to xylem vessel element formation in the cotyledon. Plant Phyiol 176: 773?789
*Ohtani M, Ramachandran V, Tokumoto T, Takebayashi A, Ihara A, Matsumoto T, Hiroyama R, Nishikubo N, *Demura T. (2017) Identification of novel factors that increase enzymatic saccharification efficiency in Arabidopsis wood cells. Plant Biotechnol 34: 203-206
6) Bowmn JL, Kohchi T, Yamato KT., et al. (2017) Insights into land plant evolution garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha genome. Cell 171: 287-304 Yu X, Takebayashi A, *Demura T, *Ohtani M (2017) Differential expression of poplar sucrose nonfermenting1-related protein kinase 2 genes in response to abiotic stress and abscisic acid. J Plant Res 130: 929-940
7) Ohtani M, Morisaki K, Sawada Y, Sano R, Uy ALT, Yamamoto A, Kurata T, Nakano Y, Suzuki S, Matsuda M, Hasunuma T, Hirai MY, *Demura T (2016) Primary metabolism during biosynthesis of secondary wall polymers of protoxylem vessel elements. Plant Physiol 172: 1612-1624
8) *Ohtani M, Takebayashi A, Hiroyama R, Xu B, Kudo T, Sakakibara H, Sugiyama M, Demura T (2015) Cell dedifferentiation and organogenesis in vitro require more snRNA than does seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana. J Plant Res 128: 371-380
9) Rejab NA, Nakano Y, Yoneda A, *Ohtani M, *Demura T (2015) Possible contribution of TED6 and TED7, secondary cell wall-related membrane proteins, to evolution of tracheary element in angiosperm lineage. Plant Biotechnol 32: 343-347
10) Xu B, *Ohtani M, Yamaguchi M, Toyooka K, Wakazaki M, Sato M, Kubo M, Hiwatashi Y, Murata T, Kurata T, Yoneda A, Kato K, Hasebe M, *Demura T (2014) Contribution of NAC Transcription Factors to Plant Adaptation to Land. Science 343: 1505-1508
11) *Numata K, Ohtani M, Yoshizumi T, Demura T, Kodama Y (2014) Local gene silencing in plants via synthetic dsRNA and carrier peptide. Plant Biotechnol J 12: 1027-1034 *Ohtani M, Demura T, Sugiyama M (2013) Arabidopsis ROOT INITIATION DEFECTIVE 1, a DEAH-box RNA helicase involved in pre-mRNA splicing, is essential for plant development. Plant Cell 25: 2056-2069
12) Ohtani M, Nishikubo N, Xu B, Yamaguchi M, Mitsuda N, Goue N, Shi F, Ohme-Takagi M, *Demura T (2011) A NAC domain protein family contributing to the regulation of wood formation in poplar. Plant J 67: 499-512
13) Ohtani M, Demura T, *Sugiyama M (2010) Particular significance of SRD2-dependent snRNA accumulation in polarized pattern generation during lateral root development of Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Physiol 51: 2002-2012
14) Yamaguchi M, Goue N, Igarashi H, Ohtani M, Nakano Y, Mortimer JC, Nishikubo N, Kubo M, Katayama Y, Kakegawa K, Dupree P, *Demura T (2010)VASCULAR-RELATED NAC-DOMAIN6 and VASCULAR-RELATED NAC-DOMAIN7 effectively induce transdifferentiation into xylem vessel elements under control of an induction system. Plant Physiol 153: 906-914
15) Yamaguchi M, Ohtani M, Mitsuda N, Kubo M, Ohme-Takagi M, Fukuda H, *Demura T (2010) VND-INTERACTING2, a NAC domain protein, negatively regulates xylem vessel formation in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 22: 1249-1263
16) Ohtani M, Demura T, *Sugiyama M (2008) Differential requirement for the function of SRD2, an snRNA transcription activator, in various stages of plant development. Plant Mol Biol 66: 303-314
17) Ohtani M, *Sugiyama M (2005) Involvement of SRD2-mediated activation of snRNA transcription in the control of cell proliferation competence in Arabidopsis. Plant J 43: 479-490

Other Activities

The Botanical Society of Japan, The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists, Japanese Society for Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, The Molecular Biology Society of Japan, The RNA Society of Japan

Future Plan

This laboratory aim to obtain molecular information on how plants sense and react to environmental conditions, to control flexibly cell proliferation and differentiation for an active control of individual.

Messages to Students

I hope you will join us in our mission to reveal molecular mechanisms of complicated biological functions, using "plants" as materials.

URL

https://plantfunkashiwa-en.jimdofree.com/