From People - School of Science, The University of Tokyo
佐藤 政充 (さとう まさみつ)
SATO, Masamitsu
| Title | Research Associate |
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| Affiliation | Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science |
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| Room | 125, Faculty of Science Bldg.3, 1F |
| TEL | +81-3-5841-4388 24388 (ext.) |
Research Field
Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics
Research Subject
How are mitosis and meiosis controlled? --- Analyses from the viewpoint of microtubules, chromosome segregation the and cell cycle
Current Research
Cell division is divided into two patterns: MITOSIS and MEIOSIS. Mitosis generates two daughter cells that are theoretically identical to each other. Meiosis is a specialised cell division that is particularly used for production of gametes. The cell fate which pattern a cell is undergoing must be determined by the environment of the cell. We aim to understand the molecular mechanism of those two cell divisions, by use of molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and systems biology. Our research projects can be largely categorised into the following four titles.
(1) Roles for microtubules in mitosis and meiosis: Microtubules are generated through polymerisation of alpha/beta-tubulin dimers. During mitosis (also in meiosis), spindle microtubules are formed to pull chromosomes (duplicated sister chromatids) apart into two daughter cells. Failure in correct segregation can result in aneuploidy, which is often found in cancer cells, therefore chromosome segregation by microtubules must be strictly regulated. In this project, we investigate how microtubules (and chromosomes) are regulated during mitosis and meiosis, using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model organism.
(2) What is the difference of mitosis and meiosis?: Mitosis and meiosis have many differences in terms of cell cycle regulation and cell morphology. Those points must be directly linked to the distinct purposes of those two division patterns. We try to discover the difference of two divisions and thereby analysing the biological significance of those phenomena.
(3) How is the polarised cell growth established?: During interphase, microtubules are formed in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic microtubule array, actin, and a huge number of polarity proteins are known to contribute to the establishment of the cell polarity, namely, the determination which direction for a cell to grow. We are in a collaboration with oversea researchers (the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, UK, and the Microsoft Research, University of Trento, Italy). We combine genetics, high-content microscopy, and systems biology to mathematically models the molecular system how the polarised growth is established. This collaboration is supported by HFSP.
(4) Developing the live imaging methods and materials of fission yeast: In the projects listed above, we express three-colour fluorescent proteins in living fission yeast cells and observe under the high-resolution real-time microscope. Taking the advantage of fission yeast in easy-handling and easy-operation, we aim to discover unknown intracellular phenomena and analyse the molecular mechanism and biological significance of those phenomena.
Keywords
Fission Yeast, Mitosis, Meiosis, Cell Cycle, Cell Division, Genetics, Cell Biology, Chromosome Segregation, Microtubule, Cell Polarity