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Taniguchi Atsushi

Research Institute for Electronic Science　Research Center of Mathematics for Social CreativityPart-time Fellow

Researcher basic information

■ URL
researchmap URLホームページURL■ Various IDs
ORCID IDJ-Global ID■ Research Keywords and Fields
Research Field
  • Life Science, Cell biology

Career

■ Career
Career
  • Apr. 2022 - Present
    Hokkaido University, Research Institute for Electronic Science, 研究員
  • Oct. 2013 - Mar. 2022
    National Institute for Basic Biology, 時空間制御研究室, 研究員, Japan

Research activity information

■ Papers
  • Statistical and mechanical analysis of multi-pseudopodial locomotion in a testate amoeba, Arcella sp.
    Genta MATSUMOTO; Atsushi TANIGUCHI; Mami NOMURA; Satoshi SHIMANO; Jean-Paul RIEU; Katsuhiko SATO; Toshiyuki NAKAGAKI; Yukinori NISHIGAMI
    Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B, 102, 1, 57, 70, Japan Academy, 09 Jan. 2026
    Scientific journal
  • Discovery of essential kinetoplastid-insect adhesion proteins and their function in Leishmania-sand fly interactions
    Ryuji Yanase; Katerina Pruzinova; Barrack O. Owino; Edward Rea; Flávia Moreira-Leite; Atsushi Taniguchi; Shigenori Nonaka; Jovana Sádlová; Barbora Vojtkova; Petr Volf; Jack D. Sunter
    Nature Communications, 15, 1, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 13 Aug. 2024, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal, Abstract

    Leishmania species, members of the kinetoplastid parasites, cause leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, in millions of people worldwide. Leishmania has a complex life cycle with multiple developmental forms, as it cycles between a sand fly vector and a mammalian host; understanding their life cycle is critical to understanding disease spread. One of the key life cycle stages is the haptomonad form, which attaches to insect tissues through its flagellum. This adhesion, conserved across kinetoplastid parasites, is implicated in having an important function within their life cycles and hence in disease transmission. Here, we discover the kinetoplastid-insect adhesion proteins (KIAPs), which localise in the attached Leishmania flagellum. Deletion of these KIAPs impairs cell adhesion in vitro and prevents Leishmania from colonising the stomodeal valve in the sand fly, without affecting cell growth. Additionally, loss of parasite adhesion in the sand fly results in reduced physiological changes to the fly, with no observable damage of the stomodeal valve and reduced midgut swelling. These results provide important insights into a comprehensive understanding of the Leishmania life cycle, which will be critical for developing transmission-blocking strategies.
  • Left-right asymmetry is formed in the basal bodies of the mouse node cilia in a cilia motility-dependent manner
    Hiroshi Yoke; Atsushi Taniguchi; Shigenori Nonaka
    14 Sep. 2023
  • Automated contour extraction for light‐sheet microscopy images of zebrafish embryos based on object edge detection algorithm
    Akiko Kondow; Kiyoshi Ohnuma; Atsushi Taniguchi; Joe Sakamoto; Makoto Asashima; Kagayaki Kato; Yasuhiro Kamei; Shigenori Nonaka
    Development, Growth & Differentiation, Wiley, 23 Jun. 2023, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • Formation and three-dimensional architecture of Leishmania adhesion in the sand fly vector
    Ryuji Yanase; Flávia Moreira-Leite; Edward Rea; Lauren Wilburn; Jovana Sádlová; Barbora Vojtkova; Katerina Pružinová; Atsushi Taniguchi; Shigenori Nonaka; Petr Volf; Jack D Sunter
    eLife, 12, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, 10 May 2023, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal, Attachment to a substrate to maintain position in a specific ecological niche is a common strategy across biology, especially for eukaryotic parasites. During development in the sand fly vector, the eukaryotic parasite Leishmania adheres to the stomodeal valve, as the specialised haptomonad form. Dissection of haptomonad adhesion is a critical step for understanding the complete life cycle of Leishmania. Nevertheless, haptomonad studies are limited, as this is a technically challenging life cycle form to investigate. Here, we have combined three-dimensional electron microscopy approaches, including serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM) and serial tomography to dissect the organisation and architecture of haptomonads in the sand fly. We showed that the attachment plaque contains distinct structural elements. Using time-lapse light microscopy of in vitro haptomonad-like cells, we identified five stages of haptomonad-like cell differentiation, and showed that calcium is necessary for Leishmania adhesion to the surface in vitro. This study provides the structural and regulatory foundations of Leishmania adhesion, which are critical for a holistic understanding of the Leishmania life cycle.
  • First person – Atsushi Taniguchi and Yukinori Nishigami
    Biology Open, 12, 2, The Company of Biologists, 15 Feb. 2023
    Scientific journal, ABSTRACT

    First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Atsushi Taniguchi and Yukinori Nishigami are co-first authors on ‘ Light-sheet microscopy reveals dorsoventral asymmetric membrane dynamics of Amoeba proteus during pressure-driven locomotion’, published in BiO. Atsushi is a postdoc in the lab of Toshiyuki Nakagaki at Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-Ward Sapporo, Japan, investigating algorithms for collective space exploration and use in ciliates and amoebae. Yukinori is an assistant professor in the lab of Toshiyuki Nakagaki at the Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-Ward Sapporo, Japan, investigating the behavior of protists.
  • Light-sheet microscopy reveals dorsoventral asymmetric membrane dynamics of Amoeba proteus during pressure-driven locomotion
    Atsushi Taniguchi; Yukinori Nishigami; Hiroko Kajiura-Kobayashi; Daisuke Takao; Daisuke Tamaoki; Toshiyuki Nakagaki; Shigenori Nonaka; Seiji Sonobe
    Biology Open, 12, 2, The Company of Biologists, 30 Jan. 2023, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author], [International Magazine]
    Scientific journal, ABSTRACT

    Amoebae are found all around the world and play an essential role in the carbon cycle in the environment. Therefore, the behavior of amoebae is a crucial factor when considering the global environment. Amoebae change their distribution through amoeboid locomotion, which are classified into several modes. In the pressure-driven mode, intracellular hydrostatic pressure generated by the contraction of cellular cortex actomyosin causes the pseudopod to extend. During amoeboid locomotion, the cellular surface exhibits dynamic deformation. Therefore, to understand the mechanism of amoeboid locomotion, it is important to characterize cellular membrane dynamics. Here, to clarify membrane dynamics during pressure-driven amoeboid locomotion, we developed a polkadot membrane staining method and performed light-sheet microscopy in Amoeba proteus, which exhibits typical pressure-driven amoeboid locomotion. It was observed that the whole cell membrane moved in the direction of movement, and the dorsal cell membrane in the posterior part of the cell moved more slowly than the other membrane. In addition, membrane complexity varied depending on the focused characteristic size of the membrane structure, and in general, the dorsal side was more complex than the ventral side. In summary, the membrane dynamics of Amoeba proteus during pressure-driven locomotion are asymmetric between the dorsal and ventral sides.

    This article has an associated interview with the co-first authors of the paper.
  • Temperature elevation was detected in migrating cells
    Takayuki Nakamura; Joe Sakamoto; Kohki Okabe; Atsushi Taniguchi; Takahiro G. Yamada; Shigenori Nonaka; Yasuhiro Kamei; Akira Funahashi; Makoto Tominaga; Noriko F. Hiroi
    Optics Continuum, 1, 5, 1085, 1097, Optica Publishing Group, Apr. 2022, [Peer-reviewed]
    English, Scientific journal
  • Near-wall rheotaxis of the ciliate Tetrahymena induced by the kinesthetic sensing of cilia
    Takuya Ohmura; Yukinori Nishigami; Atsushi Taniguchi; Shigenori Nonaka; Takuji Ishikawa; Masatoshi Ichikawa
    Science Advances, 7, 43, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 22 Oct. 2021, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal, Kinesthetic sensing of cilia results in upstream motility for Tetrahymena pyriformis , a typical freshwater microorganism.
  • Light‐sheet microscopy‐based 3D single‐cell tracking reveals a correlation between cell cycle and the start of endoderm cell internalization in early zebrafish development
    Akiko Kondow; Kiyoshi Ohnuma; Yasuhiro Kamei; Atsushi Taniguchi; Ryoma Bise; Yoichi Sato; Hisateru Yamaguchi; Shigenori Nonaka; Keiichiro Hashimoto
    Development, Growth & Differentiation, 62, 7-8, 495, 502, Wiley, Oct. 2020, [Peer-reviewed]
    English, Scientific journal
  • Skeleton construction upon local regression of the sponge body
    Kouji Kishimoto; Wakana Sugano‐Yasunaga; Atsushi Taniguchi; Kiyokazu Agata; Shigenori Nonaka; Noriko Funayama
    Development, Growth & Differentiation, 61, 9, 485, 500, Wiley, 09 Dec. 2019, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal, Abstract

    We previously revealed that the mechanism of demosponge skeleton construction is self‐organization by multiple rounds of sequential mechanical reactions of player cells. In these reactions, “transport cells” dynamically carry fine skeletal elements (spicules) on epithelia surrounding the inner body space of sponges (basal epithelium (basopinacoderm) and the endodermal epithelium (ENCM)). Once spicules pierce ENCM and apical pinacoderm, subsequently they are cemented to the substratum under the sponge body, or connected to other skeleton‐constructing spicules. Thus, the “pierce” step is the key to holding up spicules in the temporary periphery of growing sponges’ bodies. Since sponges can regress as well as grow, here we asked how skeleton construction occurs during local regression of the body. We found that prior to local basopinacoderm retraction (and thus body regression), the body became thinner. Some spicules that were originally carried outward stagnated for a while, and were then carried inwards either on ENCM or basopinacoderm. Spicules that were carried inwards on ENCM pierced epithelia after a short transport, and thus became held up at relatively inward positions compared to spicules carried on outwardly extending basopinacoderm. The switch of epithelia on which transport cells migrate efficiently occurred in thinner body spaces where basopinacoderm and ENCM became close to each other. Thus, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are rather mechanical: the combination of sequential reactions of skeleton construction and the narrowed body space upon local retraction of basopinacoderm cause spicules to be held up at more‐inward positions, which might strengthen the basopinacoderm's attachment to substratum.
  • System level analysis of motor-related neural activities in larval Drosophila
    Youngteak Yoon; Jeonghyuk Park; Atsushi Taniguchi; Hiroshi Kohsaka; Ken Nakae; Shigenori Nonaka; Shin Ishii; Akinao Nose
    Journal of Neurogenetics, 33, 3, 179, 189, Informa UK Limited, 07 Jun. 2019, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • Rotation of stress fibers as a single wheel in migrating fish keratocytes
    Okimura, C.; Taniguchi, A.; Nonaka, S.; Iwadate, Y.
    Scientific Reports, 8, 1, 2018, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • Influence of cellular shape on sliding behavior of ciliates
    Nishigami, Y.; Ohmura, T.; Taniguchi, A.; Nonaka, S.; Manabe, J.; Ishikawa, T.; Ichikawa, M.
    Communicative and Integrative Biology, 11, 4, 2018, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • Simple mechanosense and response of cilia motion reveal the intrinsic habits of ciliates
    Ohmura, T.; Nishigami, Y.; Taniguchi, A.; Nonaka, S.; Manabe, J.; Ishikawa, T.; Ichikawa, M.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115, 13, 2018, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • Axially-confined in vivo single-cell labeling by primed conversion using blue and red lasers with conventional confocal microscopes
    Taniguchi, A.; Kimura, Y.; Mori, I.; Nonaka, S.; Higashijima, S.-I.
    Development Growth and Differentiation, 59, 9, 2017, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • High-speed microscopy with an electrically tunable lens to image the dynamics of in vivo molecular complexes
    Nakai, Y.; Ozeki, M.; Hiraiwa, T.; Tanimoto, R.; Funahashi, A.; Hiroi, N.; Taniguchi, A.; Nonaka, S.; Boilot, V.; Shrestha, R.; Clark, J.; Tamura, N.; Draviam, V.M.; Oku, H.
    Review of Scientific Instruments, 86, 1, 2015, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
  • High-Speed Imaging of Amoeboid Movements Using Light-Sheet Microscopy
    Takao, D.; Taniguchi, A.; Takeda, T.; Sonobe, S.; Nonaka, S.
    PLoS ONE, 7, 12, 2012, [Peer-reviewed]
    Scientific journal
■ Other Activities and Achievements
■ Books and other publications
■ Research Themes
  • Circumferential asymmetry of mouse nodal cilia
    Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
    01 Apr. 2014 - 31 Mar. 2017
    Nonaka Shigenori; TANIGUCHI Atsushi
    In mammalian development, leftward fluid flow generated by nodal cilia is crucial to future left-right asymmetry. The cilia beat in rotational pattern with different angular velocity between leftward and rightward phases, and the cause of the difference is not determined, manifestation of viscous resistance or active control based on the ciliary structure. That’s why we tried to find out circumferential orientation of the cilia, by determining basal foot and mother/daughter centrioles at the base of the cilia. Unfortunately, the reported marker of basal foot, ODF2, exhibited unexpected staining pattern and we couldn’t determine their exact orientation, while the orientation of the two centrioles (mother or daughter) seemed random, suggesting the viscous resistance model.
    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, National Institute for Basic Biology, 26650112