Understanding cell architecture through quantitative microscopy and structural calculations

Faculty

Research Summary

Cells are a beautiful example of architecture made by the nature. How such harmonious architecture is constructed ‘without an architect’ remains a mystery. This laboratory is studying the mechanisms underlying the movement and positioning of intracellular organelles (such as the cell nucleus) at appropriate positions with appropriate sizes, using approaches involving quantitative microscopy and structural calculations of cells. Through our studies, we aim to understand the secrets of constructing the cell.

Cell division at the 1-cell stage (left) and cell arrangement pattern during development (right) in the C. elegans embryo. The upper panels show actual C. elegans embryos and the lower panels show our quantitative simulations. (The lower right visualization was obtained using software developed by Dr. A. Funahashi [Keio Univ].)

Selected Publications

Kimura A. Quantitative Biology–A Practical Introduction. Springer 2022.

Torisawa T, Kimura A. Sequential accumulation of dynein and its regulatory proteins at the spindle region in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 11;12(1):11740.

Yesbolatova AK, Arai R, Sakaue T, Kimura A. Formulation of Chromatin Mobility as a Function of Nuclear Size during C. elegans Embryogenesis Using Polymer Physics Theories. Phys Rev Lett. 2022 Apr 29;128(17):178101.

Seirin-Lee S, Yamamoto K, Kimura A. The extra-embryonic space and the local contour are crucial geometric constraints regulating cell arrangement. Development. 2022 May 1;149(9):dev200401.