Naohiro Kato
Associate Professor Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge LA
Dr. Kato studies how cells respond to their environments using microalgae and plants.
Areas of Expertise
Research Focus
Microalgal Biotechnology & Sustainability
Dr. Kato’s research focuses on microalgal biotechnology for health and sustainability—probing how algae and plants sense their environment to yield asthma-treating compounds and biodegradable Mardi Gras beads. He integrates genetic, biochemical, and mathematical modeling to cultivate microalgae in salt-intruded rice fields, linking fundamental cell biology to eco-friendly industry and biomedical innovation.
Education
Hiroshima University
Ph.D.
1998
Media Appearances
LSU team creates 3D-printed Mardi Gras beads that are biodegradable
Unfiltered with Kiran online
2025-02-18
Mardi Gras just got a little greener. An LSU researcher and his team of graduate students have designed biodegradable Mardi Gras beads that can be produced using 3D printers and contain embedded seeds for planting.
The project began in August 2024 and has rapidly progressed in research and prototyping. Leading the initiative is Professor Naohiro Kato.
Biodegradable Mardi Gras beads might be rarest throw of 2022 - or ever
NOLA online
2022-02-11
Or not. Naohiro Kato, the cell biologist whose research led to the environmentally conscious beads, isn’t celebrating. Kato says the experiment in making biodegradable beads has taught him that such beads are not the answer to the greening of Carnival. His algae-born plastic could have practical applications, but, in his studied opinion, Carnival throws might not be one of them.
Made From Microalgae, These Mardi Gras Beads Are Biodegradable
Smithsonian Magazine online
2019-02-27
Louisiana State University molecular biologist Naohiro Kato is confronting plastic pollution one necklace and doubloon at a time
LSU researchers’ ‘PlantMe Beads’ offer a sustainable future for Mardi Gras
LSU Reveille online
2025-03-03
Last August, Kato’s team began decided to start 3D printing the beads instead. The beads started as big spheres perforated with holes but have since evolved into an intricate network of specific shapes so that the plants can start growing the moment they hit the ground. These plants’ roots also attract bacteria that help the plastic breakdown further. Moreover, these new beads cost only 50 cents a strand to produce. The “PlantMe Beads” were born.
Articles
Dynamic modeling of ABA-dependent expression of the Arabidopsis RD29A gene
Frontiers in Plant Science2022
The abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway is the key defense mechanism against drought stress in plants. In the pathway, signal transduction among four core proteins, pyrabactin resistance (PYR), protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C), sucrose-non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2), and ABRE binding factor (ABF) leads to altered gene expression kinetics that is driven by an ABA-responsive element (ABRE). A most recent and comprehensive study provided data suggesting that ABA alters the expression kinetics in over 6,500 genes through the ABF-ABRE associations in Arabidopsis. Of these genes, termed ABA gene regulatory network (GRN), over 50% contain a single ABRE within 4 kb of the gene body, despite previous findings suggesting that a single copy of ABRE is not sufficient to drive the gene expression.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Alternates Peroxisomal Contents in Response to Trophic Conditions
Cells2022
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a model green microalga capable of heterotrophic growth on acetic acid but not fatty acids, despite containing a full complement of genes for β-oxidation. Recent reports indicate that the alga preferentially sequesters, rather than breaks down, lipid acyl chains as a means to rebuild its membranes rapidly. Here, we assemble a list of potential Chlamydomonas peroxins (PEXs) required for peroxisomal biogenesis to suggest that C. reinhardtii has a complete set of peroxisome biogenesis factors. To determine involvements of the peroxisomes in the metabolism of exogenously added fatty acids, we examined transgenic C. reinhardtii expressing fluorescent proteins fused to N- or C-terminal peptide of peroxisomal proteins, concomitantly with fluorescently labeled palmitic acid under different trophic conditions.
Cells collectively migrate during ammonium chemotaxis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Scientific Reports2023
The mechanisms governing chemotaxis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are largely unknown compared to those regulating phototaxis despite equal importance on the migratory response in the ciliated microalga. To study chemotaxis, we made a simple modification to a conventional Petri dish assay. Using the assay, a novel mechanism governing Chlamydomonas ammonium chemotaxis was revealed. First, we found that light exposure enhances the chemotactic response of wild-type Chlamydomonas strains, yet phototaxis-incompetent mutant strains, eye3-2 and ptx1, exhibit normal chemotaxis. This suggests that Chlamydomonas transduces the light signal pathway in chemotaxis differently from that in phototaxis.
Phosphatidic acid produced by phospholipase Dα1 and Dδ is incorporated into the internal membranes but not involved in the gene expression of RD29A in the abscisic acid signaling network in [....]
Frontiers in Plant Science2024
Core protein components of the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling network, pyrabactin resistance (PYR), protein phosphatases 2C (PP2C), and SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) are involved in the regulation of stomatal closure and gene expression downstream responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Phosphatidic acid (PA) produced by the phospholipases Dα1 and Dδ (PLDs) in the plasma membrane has been identified as a necessary molecule in ABA-inducible stomatal closure. On the other hand, the involvement of PA in ABA-inducible gene expression has been suggested but remains a question. In this study, the involvement of PA in the ABA-inducible gene expression was examined in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the canonical RD29A ABA-inducible gene that possesses a single ABA–responsive element (ABRE) in the promoter.
COP5/HKR1 changes ciliary beat pattern and biases cell steering during chemotaxis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Scientific Reports2024
This study investigates the control of ciliary beat patterns during ammonium chemotaxis in the model ciliate microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Screening the chemotaxis response of mutant strains with ciliary defects revealed that a strain lacking CAV2, the alpha subunit of the voltage-gated calcium channel, is deficient in ammonium chemotaxis. CAV2 regulates the switching of the ciliary beat pattern from the asymmetric to the symmetric waveform. Strains lacking COP5/HKR1 (chlamyopsin 5/histidine kinase rhodopsin 1) are also deficient in ammonium chemotaxis. Conversely, strains defective in phototaxis perform ammonium chemotaxis normally. Cell motility analysis revealed wild-type cells reduce the incidences of switching the ciliary beat pattern from the asymmetric to symmetric waveform when swimming up the ammonium gradient.
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