RESEARCH INTERESTS:
My group is interested in several aspects of flower and seed development. Our goal is to discover genetic pathways that could lead to improvement of crop traits. One of our focuses is the development of seed at very early stages. Currently, we are investigating the interaction between endosperm and embryo, which marks one of the most conspicuous reproduction processes of flowering plants. We are also interested in molecular mechanisms specifying cell fate and controlling cell proliferation in plants. Our studies employ reverse as well as forward genetic approaches in two model systems, Arabidopsis and rice. To understand global cross talks between genes, we also utilize various genomic methodologies in our studies.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Elliot Meyerowitz
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California, USA
http://www.caltech.edu/~meyerowitz/
Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Wolfhard Bandlow
Institute for Genetics and Microbiology
University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Ph.D. Genetics
University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Diplom Biology
University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
CURRENT POSITION:
Senior Research Scientist, Principal Investigator
DuPont, Agriculture and Nutrition, Molecular Genetics
Newark, DE
PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED):
Sakai, H., Taramino, G., Nagasawa, N., Miao, G.-H., Vogel, J., Tingey, S.V. Development of genomics approaches for crop trait improvement. In Rice Genetics IV, International Rice Research Institute (in press).
Sakai H., Krizek B.A., Jacobsen S.E., and Meyerowitz E.M. 2000. Regulation of SUP expression identifies multiple regulators involved in Arabidopsis floral meristem development. Plant Cell, 12: 1607-18.
Jacobsen, S.E., Sakai, H., Finnegan, E.J., Cao, X., and Meyerowitz,
E.M. 2000. Ectopic hypermethylation of flower-specific genes in
Arabidopsis. Curr Biol. 10: 179-86.
Hua, J., Sakai, H., Nourizadeh, S., Chen, Q.G., Bleecker, A.B.,
Ecker, J.R., and E.M. Meyerowitz. 1998. EIN4 and ERS2 are members of
the putative ethylene receptor gene family in Arabidopsis. Plant
Cell, 10: 1321-1332.
Sakai, H., Hua, J., Chen, Q.G., Chang, C., Bleecker, A.B., Medrano,
L.J., and E.M. Meyerowitz. 1998. ETR2 is an ETR1-like gene involved
in ethylene signaling in Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95:
5812-5817.
Meyerowitz, E.M., Running, M.P., Sakai, H., and R.W. Williams. 1997.
Multiple modes of cell division control in Arabidopsis flower
development. In Symposia of the society for experimental Biology:
Control of plant Development; genes and signals. The Company of
Biologists Limited. Cambridge, UK.
Hua, J., Sakai, H., and E.M. Meyerowitz. 1997. The ethylene receptor
gene family in Arabidopsis. In Biology and Biotechnology of the Plant
Hormone Ethylene. (ed. A.K. Kanellis), pp 71-76 Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Netherlands.
Sakai, H., Medrano, L.J., and E.M. Meyerowitz. 1995. Role of SUPERMAN
in maintaining Arabidopsis floral whorl boundaries. Nature
378:199-203.
Clark, S.E., Sakai, H., and E.M. Meyerowitz. 1994. Inflorescence
development in clavata mutants. In Arabidopsis: An Atlas of
Morphology and Development (ed. J. L. Bowman), pp. 214-215.
Springer-Verlag, New York.
Bowman, J.L., Sakai, H., Jack, T., Weigel, D., Mayer, U., and E.M.
Meyerowitz. 1992. SUPERMAN, a regulator of floral homeotic genes in
Arabidopsis. Development 114:599- 615.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address:
DuPont, Agricultural Biotechnology
Delaware Technology Park 200, 1 Innovation Way
Newark, DE 19714-6104
Phone:
(302) 631-2651
Fax:
(302) 631-2607
E-Mail:
Hajime.Sakai@usa.dupont.com
DuPont Participating Scientists
Created July
1998
Last updated December 13, 2000
Copyright
© University
of Delaware,
1998.