RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Plant Lipid Research Team
Team Leader: Yuki Nakamura (D.Sc.)
Research Summary

We are investigating how lipids control plant growth and development. Lipids play diverse roles in energy storage, cellular membrane integrity and signal transduction. Under the concept of “Spatiotemporal (4-D) lipidomics”, we precisely address the molecular dynamics of lipid metabolism and underlying mechanism in growth control. Our basic research will form the basis of knowledge-based metabolic engineering strategy to efficiently convert photosynthetic assimilates into industrially valuable lipids, which contributes to the development of carbon-neutral society.
Main Research Fields
- Biology
Related Research Fields
- Engineering
- Agricultural Sciences
- Environmental Science
- Plant molecular biology/Plant physiology
- Molecular biology
- Cell biology
Keywords
- Plant lipid metabolism
- Plant lipid signaling
- Plant growth regulation
- Functional lipidomics
- Metabolic engineering
Selected Publications
Papers with an asterisk(*) are based on research conducted outside of RIKEN.
- 1.
*Angkawijaya, A.E, Nguyen, C.V., Gunawan, F., and Nakamura, Y.:
"A pair of diacylglycerol kinases essential for gametogenesis and ER phospholipid metabolism in leaves and flowers of Arabidopsis."
Plant Cell 32, 2602-2620. (2020). - 2.
*Ngo, A.H., Kanehara, K., and Nakamura, Y.:
"Non‐specific phospholipases C, NPC2 and NPC6, are required for root growth in Arabidopsis."
Plant J. 100(4), 825-835. (2019). - 3.
*Angkawijaya, A.E., Nguyen, V.C., and Nakamura, Y.:
Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferases 4 and 5 are involved in glycerolipid metabolism and nitrogen starvation response in Arabidopsis."
New Phytol. 224(1), 336-351. (2019). - 4.
*Lin, Y-C., Kanehara, K., and Nakamura, Y.:
"Arabidopsis CHOLINE/ETHNAOLAMINE KINASE 1 (CEK1) is a primary choline kinase localized at the ER and involved in ER stress tolerance."
New Phytol. 223(4), 1904-1917. (2019). - 5.
*Liu, Y-c, Lin, Y-C, Kanehara, K., and Nakamura, Y.:
"A methyltransferase trio essential for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and growth."
Plant Physiol. 179(2), 433-445. (2019). - 6.
*Liu, Y-c, Lin, Y-C, Kanehara, K., and Nakamura, Y.:
"A pair of phospho-base methyltransferases important for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in Arabidopsis."
Plant J. 96(5), 1064-1075. (2018). - 7.
*Ngo, A.H., Lin, Y-C., Liu, Y-c., Gutbrod, K., Peisker, H., Dörmann, P., and Nakamura, Y.:
"A pair of non-specific phospholipases C, NPC2 and NPC6, is involved in gametophyte development and glycerolipid metabolism in Arabidopsis."
New Phytol. 219(1), 163-175. (2018). - 8.
*Nakamura, Y.:
"Plant phospholipid diversity: Emerging functions in metabolism and protein-lipid interactions."
Trends Plant Sci. 22(12), 1027-1040. (2017). - 9.
*Lin, Y-C., Liu, Y-c., and Nakamura, Y.:
"The choline/ethanolamine kinase family in Arabidopsis: Essential role of CEK4 in phospholipid biosynthesis and embryo development."
Plant Cell, 27, 1497-1511. (2015). - 10.
*Nakamura, Y., Andrés, F., Kanehara, K., Liu, Y-c., Dörmann, P., and Coupland, G.:
"Arabidopsis florigen FT binds to diurnally oscillating phospholipids that accelerate flowering."
Nat. Commun., 5, 3553. (2014).
Recent Research Results
Related Links
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Yuki Nakamura
- Team Leader
Core members
- ArtikElisa Angkawijaya
- Research Scientist
- Anh Hai Ngo
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Van Cam Nguyen
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Chao-Yuan Yu
- Visiting Researcher
- Nina Alyssa Mabalot Barroga
- International Program Associate
Contact Information
E714 East Research Building
1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045 Japan
Email: yuki.nakamura.yf [at] riken.jp