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Q＆A

What is your hot research topic?

Previous studies suggest that mitochondria are established independently of other organelles. However, it has recently become evident that they cooperate phyisically and functionally with other organelles suvh as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), peroxisome, and lysosome. We found that selective degradation of mitochondria is also regulated via ER-localized proteins, and are now analyzing its molecular mechanisms.

What is your breakthrough or research progress in the last 5 years?

We have revealed that selective degradation of mitochondria is intimately linked to diverse processes including phospholipid methylation, protein N-terminal acetylation, phospholipid dephospholylation, nutrient/stress signaling, ER-associated degradation, and ER membrane protein insertion.

What kind of background do your lab members have？

The lab members have expertise on molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology using becteria, yeast, mammalian cultured cells as model systems.

Do you collaborate with institutions outside of Osaka Univ.?

We are currently collaborating with researchers from Wakayama University, Nagoya City University, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MA, USA), and University of Groningen (Groningen, Netherlands).

What kind of careers do your Lab's alumni go on to?

Six former lab members are now working at companies, taking a postdoc in Germany, and stadying at the graduate school in the USA.

How do you develop your research?

We anticipate to decipher basic principles underlying selective degradation of mitochondria at the molecular level in depth. Recently, using yeast, we have established a label-free method to detect selective degradation of mitochondria. We aim to apply this method to a variety of organisms except for model systems in the laboratories, and elucidate the universality and diversity in selective degradation of mitochondria.