Studies on mechanisms of Oil body biogenesis in Marchantia polymorpha

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19412
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biology of Cells to Organisms, and related fields
• Research Institution: National Institute for Basic Biology
• Principal Investigator: Ueda Takashi 基礎生物学研究所, 細胞動態研究部門, 教授 (10311333)
• Research Collaborator: Kanazawa Takehiko
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 苔類 / 油体 / 進化 / 分泌経路 / 転写因子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Liverworts including Marchantia polymorpha possess a liverwort-unique organelle, which is referred to as the oil body. The oil body has been known to contain various bioactive compounds including Marchantin, however, molecular mechanisms of oil body biogenesis remains totally unknown. In this study, aimed to unravel molecular mechanisms of oil body formation. we found that formation of the oil body and the cell plate share many machineries including SNARE proteins and microtubules. We also discovered the master regulator of oil body biogenesis, whose overexpression results in ectopic oil body formation. Furthermore, we systematically identified genes acting under the regulation of the master transcription factor for oil body formation.

Free Research Field

植物細胞生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

油体のような真核生物のある系統が特異的に獲得したオルガネラの生成機構を明らかにすることで，真核生物におけるオルガネラの進化の道筋を再構成することが可能となると期待される．さらに，オルガネラ新生の分子機構の知見は，新たなオルガネラを創り出すための基盤技術の開発に繋がる可能性もある．また，ゼニゴケの油体には抗真菌活性や抗がん活性，抗ウイルス活性を呈すると報告されている化合物が含まれており，油体形成ではたらく遺伝子群の網羅的な同定が，これらの物質の合成機序の解明につながることも期待される．