Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory
Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, Japan

2023/06/11

Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory| Laboratory History
Dr. Hiroshi Nonami, a former student of Dr. John S. Boyer moved from Delaware
University, USA to Ehime University on October 1, 1988, and he was appointed to associate
professor at the Department of Biomechanical Systems, Faculty of Agriculture. On April 1,1990, Dr. Nonami was appointed to be a professor in the ‘Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry
Research Laboratory’.

Left) Dr. Nonami operates a cellpressure probe in early 1990’s.
Right) Nonami, H. and Boyer, J.S.
(1993) Plant Physiology Cover image

In April, 1993, Dr. Nonami envisioned to combine plant water relations with massspectrometry. And he began to collaborate with Dr. Rosa Erra-Balsells, an organic chemist
at University of Buenos Aires.

The picture of conceptional single-cell metabolome analysis combined a cell pressure probewith a mass spectrometer, MALDI TOF-MS generated by Dr. Nonami.

1Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory
Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, Japan

2023/06/11

Dr. Boyer Symposium on Drought Tolerance at The Society for Experimental Biology in Barcelona in 2005.
Dr. Nonami sat at the front of Dr. John S. Boyer, and Dr. Erra-Balsells sat the right of Dr. Nonami.

Over three decades, our laboratory has been studying cell water relations andmetabolomics in plants. And consequently, the lab developed powerful analyticalmethods performable at single cells by independently combining a plant cell water status
instrument, known as ‘Cell Pressure Probe’, with two mass spectrometers, ‘Matrix-Assisted
Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)’ and‘Electrospray Ionization Orbitrap-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-Orbitrap MS)’ widely used. The
latter single-cell metabolomics is called, ‘picoliter Pressure-Probe Electrospray-Ionization
Mass Spectrometry (picoPPESI-MS)’, which was developed in 2016. Since then, picoPPESIMS analysis has been demonstrated to be a powerful method directly performable in intact
plant cells.

Workflow of single-cell metabolomics, called, ‘picoliter Pressure-Probe Electrospray-Ionization Mass Spectrometry(picoPPESI-MS)’. Reprinted with permission from Nakashima et al. Anal. Chem. 2016, 88, 3049-3057. Copyright © 2016,American Chemical Society

2Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory
Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, Japan

2023/06/11

Dr. Nonami retired in March, 2020. In April, 2020, he was granted the title of Professor
Emeritus in Ehime University, and Dr. Hiroshi Wada moved from Kyusyu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization,
JapantoEhime

Universityto

takeuptheprofessor

positionin‘PlantBiophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory’.
For the mid-term objective, the laboratory aims to further improve picoPPESI-MS anduse it to better understand cellular heterogeneity in a whole range of physiologicalprocesses in plants including ripening, pollination, and fruit development.

| ContactProf. Hiroshi Wada
Plant Biophysics/Biochemistry Research Laboratory
Course of Biomechanical Systems,
Department of Food Production Science
Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University
3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-8566, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)89-946-9824
Fax: +81-(0)89-946-9867
Email: hwada at agr.ehime-u.ac.jp

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