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Yuuta Imoto, PhD
Yuuta Imoto, PhD

Yuuta Imoto, PhD

Assistant Member, St. Jude Faculty

Departments

Education

  • BS – Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan
  • PhD (Molecular and Cellular Biology) – University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Honors and Awards

  • 2014 SPD Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
  • 2014 Dean Award, University of Tokyo
  • 2014 Advanced technology Award, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan
  • 2019 Young Investigator’s award, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • 2019 24th Hirase Award, Japanese Society for Plant Morphology
  • 2019 Young Investigator’s award, International Congress on the NME/NDPK/NM23/AWD Gene Family
  • 2024 Kazato Research award, Kazato Research Foundation
  • 2024 Jennifer N. Bourne Prize in Brain Ultrastructure, Society for Neuroscience

Research Interests

  • Membrane trafficking during synaptic vesicle recycling
  • Sorting of synaptic vesicle proteins
  • Emergence of bilaterian synaptic systems
  • Defects in synaptic function related to epilepsy, autism, and Down syndrome

Selected Publications

Imoto Y, Xue J, Luo L, Raychaudhuri S, Itoh K, Ma Y, Craft GE, Kwan AH, Ogunmowo TH, Ho A, Mackay JP, Ha T, Watanabe S, Robinson PJ. Dynamin 1xA interacts with Endophilin A1 via its spliced long C-terminus for ultrafast endocytosis. EMBO J  Aug;43(16):3327-3357, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00145-x. Epub 2024 Jun 21. PMID: 38907032; PMCID: PMC11329700. 

Jing H, Ogunmowo T, Raychaudhuri S, Kusick GF, Imoto Y, Li S, Itoh K, Chapman ER, Ha T, Watanabe S, Liu J. Membrane compression by synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggers ultrafast endocytosis. Nat Commun (2023), 14 (1): 288, 2023.

Imoto Y, Raychaudhuri S, Ma Y, Fenske P, Sandoval E, Itoh K, Blumrich EM, Matsubayashi HT, Mamer L, Zarebidaki F, Söhl-Kielczynski B, Trimbuch T, Nayak S, Iwasa JH, Liu J, Wu B, Ha T, Inoue T, Jorgensen EM, Cousin MA, Rosenmund C, Watanabe S. Dynamin is primed at endocytic sites for ultrafast endocytosis. Neuron 110(17): 2815-2835. e13, 2022.

Birdsall V, Kirwan K, Zhu M, Imoto Y, Wilson SM, Watanabe S, Waites CL. Axonal transport of Hrs is activity dependent and facilitates synaptic vesicle protein degradation. Life Sci Alli 5(10), 2022.

Kuroiwa T, Yagisawa F, Fujiwara T, Misumi O, Nagata N, Imoto Y, Yoshida Y, Mogi Y, Miyagishima SY, Kuroiwa H. Smooth Loop-Like Mitochondrial Nucleus in the Primitive Red Alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae Revealed by Drying Treatment. Cytologia 86: 89-96, 2021.

Imoto Y, Itoh K, Fujiki Y.  Molecular Basis of Mitochondrial and Peroxisomal Division Machineries. Int J Mol Sci 21(15): 5452, 2020.

Honsho M, Abe Y, Imoto Y, Chang ZF, Mandel H, Falik-Zaccai TC, Fujiki Y. Mammalian Homologue NME3 of DYNAMO1 Regulates Peroxisome Division. Int J Mol Sci 2020 Oct 28;21(21):8040. doi: 10.3390/ijms21218040. PMID: 33126676; PMCID: PMC7662248. 

Yagisawa F, Fujiwara T, Takemura T, Kobayashi Y, Sumiya N, Miyagishima SY, Nakamura S, Imoto Y, Misumi O, Tanaka K, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T.  ESCRT machinery mediates cytokinetic abscission in the unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Front Cell Dev Biol 8: 169, 2020.

Kuroiwa T, Ohnuma M, Imoto Y, Yagisawa F, Misumi O, Nagata N, Kuroiwa H.  Evolutionary significance of the ring-like plastid nucleus in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae as revealed by drying. Protoplasma 1-10, 2020.

Kuroiwa T, Yagisawa F, Fujiwara T, Inui Y, Matsunaga TM, Katoi S, Matsunaga S, Nagata N, Imoto Y, Kuroiwa H. Mitotic karyotype of the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D. Cytologia 85(2): 107-113, 2020.

Fujiki Y, Abe Y, Imoto Y, Tanaka AJ, Okumoto K, Honsho M, Tamura S, Miyata N, Yamashita T, Chung WK, Kuroiwa T.  Recent insights into peroxisome biogenesis and associated diseases. J Cell Sci 133(9), 2020.

Imoto Y, Abe Y, Okumoto K, Ohnuma M, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T, Fujiki Y. Dynamics of nucleoside diphosphate kinase protein DYNAMO2 correlates with global GTP level during cell cycle of Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Proc Japan Acad Ser B 95(2): 75-85, 2019.

Kato S, Okamura E, Matsunaga TM, Nakayama M, Kawanishi Y, Ichinose T, Iwane AH, Sakamoto T, Imoto Y, Ohnuma M, Nomura Y, Nakagami H, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T, Matsunaga S. Cyanidioschyzon merolae aurora kinase phosphorylates evolutionarily conserved sites on its target to regulate mitochondrial division. Commun Biol 2(1): 477, 2019.

Imoto Y, Abe Y, Honsho M, Okumoto K, Ohnuma M, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T, Fujiki Y.  Onsite GTP fuelling via DYNAMO1 drives division of mitochondria and peroxisomes. Nat Commun 9(1): 4634, 2018.

Imoto Y, Abe Y, Okumoto K, Honsho M, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T, Fujiki Y.  Defining dynaminbased ring organizing center on the peroxisome-dividing machinery isolated from Cyanidioschyzon merolae. J Cell Sci 130 (2): 853-867, 2017.

Highlighted in J Cell Sci A ring organising centre during organelle division, 130 (5): e0502.

Yoshida Y, Kuroiwa H, Shimada T, Yoshida M, Ohnuma M, Fujiwara T, Imoto Y, Yagisawa F, Nishida K, Hirooka S, Misumi O, Mogi Y, Akakabe Y, Matsushita K, Kuroiwa T. Glycosyltransferase MDR1 assembles a dividing ring for mitochondrial proliferation comprising polyglucan nanofilaments. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114 (50):13284-13289, 2017.

Kuroiwa T, Ohnuma M, Imoto Y, Misumi O, Nagata N, Miyakawa I, Fujishima M, Yagisawa F, Kuroiwa H. Genome size of the ultrasmall unicellular freshwater green alga, Medakamo hakoo 311, as determined by staining with 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole after microwave oven treatments: II. Comparison with Cyanidioschyzon merolae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (n, 2n), and Chlorella variabilis. Cytologia 81(1): 69-76, 2016.

Kuroiwa T, Ohnuma M, Nozaki H, Imoto Y, Misumi O, Kuroiwa H. Cytological Evidence of Cell Nuclear Genome Size of a New Ultra-Small Unicellular Freshwater Green Alga, “Medakamo hakoo” strain M-hakoo 311. I. Comparison with Cyanidioschyzon merolae and Ostreococcus tauri. Cytologia 80 (2), 2015.

Kuroiwa T, Ohnuma M, Imoto Y, Kuroiwa H. Lipid droplet formation in cells of the filamentous green alga Klebsormidium nitens as revealed by BODIOY-DiOC6 and BODIPY-nile red double-staining microscopy. Cytologia 79 (4):501-507, 2014.

Yoshida Y, Fujiwara T, Imoto Y, Yoshida M, Ohnuma M, Hirooka S, Misumi O, Kuroiwa H, Kato S, Matsunaga S, Kuroiwa T.  The kinesin-like protein TOP promotes Aurora localisation and induces mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear division. J Cell Sci 126(11): 2392-2400, 2013.

Imoto Y, Kuroiwa H, Yoshida Y, Ohnuma M, Fujiwara T, Yoshida M, Nishida K, Yagisawa F, Hirooka S, Miyagishima SY, Misumi O, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T. Single-membrane-bounded peroxisome division revealed by isolation of dynamin-based machinery. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110 (23): 9583-9588, 2013.

Yagisawa F, Fujiwara T, Ohnuma M, Kuroiwa H, Nishida K, Imoto Y, Yoshida Y, Kuroiwa T.  Golgi inheritance in the primitive red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Protoplasma 250(4): 943-948, 2013.

Imoto Y, Kuroiwa H, Ohnuma M, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T. Identification of Peroxisome-Dividing Ring in Cyanidioschyzon merolae Based on Organelle Partner Hypothesis. Cytologia 77(4): 1-8, 2012.

Kuroiwa T, Ohnuma M, Imoto Y, Misumi O, Fujiwara T, Miyagishima S, Sumiya N, Kuroiwa H. Lipid Droplets of Bacteria, Algae and Fungi and a Relationship between their Contents and Genome Sizes as Revealed by BODIPY and DAPI Staining. Cytologia 77(3): 289-299, 2012.

Yoshida Y, Kuroiwa H, Misumi O, Yoshida M, Ohnuma M, Fujiwara T, Yagisawa F, Hirooka S, Imoto Y, Matsushita K, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T. Identification of the plastid division gene PDR1. Plant Morph 24: 81-88, 2012.

Hirooka S, Hanaoka M, Enami K, Kanazawa T, Sone T, Imoto Y, Ando A, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T, Tanaka K. Nuclear-Encoded Plastid Sigma Factor SIG6 Exclusively Contributes to Chloroplast Differentiation in Plastid Differentiation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Cytologia 77(1): 73-82, 2012.

Yagisawa F, Fujiwara T, Kuroiwa H, Nishida K, Imoto Y, Kuroiwa, T. Mitotic inheritance of endoplasmic reticulum in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Protoplasma 249(4): 1129-1135, 2012.

Imoto Y, Yoshida Y, Yagisawa F, Kuroiwa H, Kuroiwa T. The cell cycle, including the mitotic cycle and organelle division cycles, as revealed by cytological observations. J Electro Micro 60(supp_1): 117-136, 2011.

Imoto Y, Nishida K, Yagisawa F, Yoshida Y, Ohnuma M, Yoshida M, Fujiwara T, Kuroiwa H, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T. Involvement of elongation factor-1α in cytokinesis without actomyosin contractile ring in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Cytologia 76(4): 431-437, 2011.

Kato S, Imoto Y, Ohnuma M, Matsunaga MT, Kuroiwa H, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T, Matsunaga S. The Aurora kinase of a red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae is related to both mitochondrial division and mitotic spindle formation. Cytologia 76(4): 455-462, 2011.

Imoto Y, Fujiwara T, Yoshida Y, Kuroiwa H, Maruyama S, & Kuroiwa T.  Division of cell nuclei, mitochondria, plastids, and microbodies mediated by mitotic spindle poles in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Protoplasma 241: 63-74, 2010.

Yoshida Y, Kuroiwa H, Misumi O, Yoshida M, Ohnuma M, Fujiwara T, Yagisawa F, Hirooka S, Imoto Y, Matsushita K, Kawano S, Kuroiwa T. Chloroplasts divide by contraction of a bundle of nanofilaments consisting of polyglucan. Science 329(5994): 959-953, 2010.

 

Last update: September 2024

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