From Starfish to Gibberellins: Biosynthesis and Regulation of Plant Hormones

I grew up with laboratory glassware and microscopes as treasures from a young age. I was a member of the Chemistry Club in junior high school, and when I visited RIKEN with club members, I wished to become an organic chemist in the future. I received my doctoral degree through the study of the spawning inhibitor of starfish. I became a researcher at RIKEN and identified the chemical structure of a mating pheromone of a yeast. As a plant biochemist, I studied a cell-free system of gibberellins at the University of Göttingen and tried to identify the gibberellin biosynthetic pathways in plants and clone gibberellin biosynthetic enzyme genes to understand the light regulation of plant growth. I also worked on biosynthetic enzymes of abscisic acid, indole acetic acid, and brassinosteroids. I developed a special interest in the oxygenases of plant hormone biosynthesis, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, 2-oxoglutartae-dependent dioxygenase, molybdenum cofactor–containing oxidase, and flavin-containing monooxygenase.