Research Interests

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Morohashi Laboratory @ Tokyo University of Science

Living organisms process vast amounts of information to adapt to their environment, survive, and reproduce. However, the mechanisms by which organisms process surrounding information remain largely unknown and cannot be replicated by computers yet. Morohashi Laboratory aims to elucidate the structure of biological networks and the mechanisms of processing systems using cutting-edge digital data analysis, with the goal of developing applications beneficial to society, such as useful substance production and preventive medicine.

The Morohashi Laboratory conducts research using a dual approach of biology and information science. We cultivate plants and obtain biological data through molecular biological methods. We then analyze the vast amount of digital data obtained using computers to verify various hypotheses related to biological phenomena. We cover a wide range of topics related to living organisms, including medicine, pharmacology, and agriculture, leading to the elucidation of phenomena that could not be scientifically proven before and the establishment of groundbreaking technologies.

Currently, the following research projects are being conducted in our laboratory. One of the unique features of our lab is that while each project is independent, they are also loosely interconnected.

1. Gene Regulatory Networks

Unraveling the gene regulatory networks of transcription factor complexes conserved during plant evolution

Our research interest is to elucidate the biological significance of networks emerging out of living organisms. We, as living organisms, have contradictory features, universality and uniqueness, which are ultimately controlled by genes encoded in a genome. We had been thinking that understanding functions of genes resolved mechanisms how living organisms orchestrate universality and uniqueness. However, our system is more complicated. Genes are indeed fundamental, but tremendous amounts of combination of the genes are involved in our system. Such a combination, "Network", is central to the orchestration of biological system. We are interested in elucidation of network emerging out of living organisms.

Plants are considered to have a high ability to adapt to their growth environment because they cannot move. Therefore, compared to animals, they are more sensitive to light, heat, and temperature, and have developed mechanisms to respond to biotic stresses such as pathogens and insects. All these "responses" involve genes, and it is expected that multiple genes form complex networks. This research aims to unravel the gene regulatory networks centered on transcription factor complexes whose amino acid sequences have been evolutionarily conserved in plants.
Crosstalk between gene regulatory networks involved in Marchantia polymorpha secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways and organ formation
Exploration and analysis of endophytic fungi that promote the growth of Marchantia polymorpha

2. Small Molecule Network s

Development of edible anti-cancer agents combining various flavonoids

We are verifying the effects of flavonoid combinations on living organisms. Flavonoids are a type of polyphenol found abundantly in vegetables and fruits, and have been reported to have effects on cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, it is not fully understood how each flavonoid acts complexly through various biological targets. In this research, we aim to identify common efficacies by analyzing the protein interaction networks of therapeutic drugs such as anti-cancer agents and flavonoids, and to discover foods that have effects on living organisms through combinations of multiple flavonoids.

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Identification of optimal flavonoid combinations showing anti-cancer effects

3. Applied Research Utilizing Biological Functions

Development of odor biosensors
Development of ultra-sensitive protein interaction detection methods using nucleic acid aptamers