RESEARCHERID

Keiko Torii

Collaborating Researcher, Professor, The University of Texas at Austin, USA

Website：https://www.plant-stomata.org

Plant development, cell-cell communication, peptides, receptor kinase, stomata
Through being selected as an HHMI-GBMF investigator of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Torii has been recognized as one of "the 15 most innovative plant scientists in the US". Torii has elucidated the molecular and genetic basis of cell-cell communication and dynamics of cellular behaviors that coordinate plant organ morphogenesis and tissue patterning. She has also identified two peptides, EPFL4 and EPFL6, that act as ligands for receptor kinases to promote plant growth. She will be involved mainly in the development of molecules that selectively induce plant growth as well as the bio-imaging project, collaborating with the groups of Higashiyama, Kinoshita, Itami, Yamaguchi, and Irle.

Profile

1987B.S.; University of Tsukuba (Biological Sciences)
1989M.S.; University of Tsukuba (Biological Sciences)
1993Ph.D.; University of Tsukuba (Biological Sciences; Biochemistry and Biophysics)
1992-1994JSPS Research Fellow;The University of Tokyo
1994-1997JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow for Research Abroad and Brown Postdoctoral Fellow; Yale University, USA
1997-1999Postdoctoral Fellow; University of Michigan, USA
1999-2005Assistant Professor; University of Washington, USA
2005-2009Associate Professor; University of Washington, USA
2008-2012JST PRESTO Researcher
2009-presentProfessor, University of Washington; USA
2011-presentDistinguished Professor of Biology; University of Washington, USA
2011-presentInvestigator; Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (HHMI-GBMF), USA
2013-presentVisiting Professor; WPI-ITbM, Nagoya University

Research Highlights

News

Selected Awards and Honors

2015 Science Lectureship Award 2015, Chiba University
2015 Saruhashi Prize, Association for the Bright Future for Women Scientists
2015 ASPB Fellow Award, American Society of Plant Scientists
2014 Inoue Prize for Sciences, Inoue Foundation
2014-2018 Scientific Council Member, The Sainsbury Lab, UK
2014 ADVANCE Distinguished Lectureship, Kansas State University
2012 Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS)
2012 Elected Member, Washington State Academy of Science (WSAS)
2012 Elected Member, North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee
2011 HHMI-GMBF Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
2010 University of Washington Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
2008 JSPS Prize, Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences

Selected Publications

  • Lee, J. S.; Hnilova, M.; Maes, M.; Lin, Y. C. L.; Putarjunan, A.; Han, S. K.; Avila, J.; Torii, K. U. Nature 2015, 522, 439-443, Competitive binding of antagonistic peptides fine-tunes stomatal patterning. DOI: 10.1038/nature14561
  • Tameshige, T.; Hirakawa, Y.; Torii, K. U.; Uchida, N. Front Plant Sci. 2015, 6, 324. Cell walls as a stage for intercellular communication regulating shoot meristem development. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00324
  • Peterson, K. M.; Shyu, C.; Burr, C. A.; Horst, R. J.; Kanaoka, M. M.; Omae, M.; Sato, Y.; Torii, K. U. Development 2013, 140, 1924. Arabidopsis homeodomain-leucine zipper IV proteins promote stomatal development and ectopically induce stomata beyond the epidermis. DOI: 10.1242/dev.090209
  • Uchida, N.; Lee, J. S.; Horst, R. J.; Lai, H. H.; Kajita, R.; Kakimoto, T.; Tasaka, M.; Torii, K. U. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2012, 109, 6337. Regulation of inflorescence architecture by inter-tissue-layer ligand-receptor communication between the endodermis and phloem. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1117537109
  • Lee, J. S.; Kuroha, T.; Hnilova, M.; Khatayevich, D.; Kanaoka, M. M.; McAbee, J. M.; Sarikaya, M.; Tamerler, C.; Torii, K. U. Genes Dev. 2012, 26, 126. Direct interaction of ligand-receptor pairs specifying stomatal patterning. DOI: 10.1101/gad.179895.111
  • Pillitteri L. J.; Sloan, D.; Bogenschutz, N. B.; Torii, K. U. Nature 2007, 445, 501. Termination of asymmetric cell division and differentiation of stomata. DOI: 10.1038/nature05467
  • Shpak, E. D.; McAbee J. M.; Pillitteri, L. J.; Torii, K. U. Science 2005, 309, 290. Stomatal patterning and differentiation by synergistic interactions of receptor kinases. DOI: 10.1126/science.1109710