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RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Plant Perception RIKEN ECL Research Unit

RIKEN ECL Unit Leader: Bruno Pok Man Ngou (Ph.D.)

Research Summary

Bruno Pok Man Ngou

Plants continuously monitor their environment through sensory systems that detect signals from microbes, neighbouring organisms, and the surrounding ecosystem. The Plant Perception Unit aims to uncover how plants perceive and interpret these signals through cell-surface receptors. We investigate how these receptors evolved to recognize diverse molecules and how signal perception is translated into distinct physiological responses. By integrating evolutionary biology, molecular mechanisms, and physiology, our research seeks to reveal the fundamental principles that enable plants to adapt to changing environments. Ultimately, we aim to build a comprehensive understanding of plant perception and its role in shaping plant resilience, interactions, and survival.

Main Research Fields

  • Biology

Related Research Fields

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Biological Sciences
  • Plant molecular biology and physiology-related
  • Evolutionary biology-related

Keywords

  • Plant biology
  • Receptor biology
  • Evolution
  • Phylogenetics
  • Plant immunity

Selected Publications

Papers with an asterisk(*) are based on research conducted outside of RIKEN.

  • 1. BPM Ngou, Y Kadota, K Shirasu
    "Plant cell surface receptors"
    The Plant Journal, 125 (6), e70800. (2026).
  • 2. BPM Ngou, M Wyler, MW Schmid, T Suzuki, M Albert, N Dohmae, Y Kadota, K Shirasu
    "Systematic discovery and engineering of synthetic immune receptors in plants"
    Science, 389 (6764), eadx2508. (2025).
  • 3. BPM Ngou, M Wyler, MW Schmid, Y Kadota, K Shirasu
    "Evolutionary trajectory of pattern recognition receptors in plants"
    Nature Communications, 15 (1), 308. (2024).
  • 4. *BPM Ngou, R Heal, M Wyler, MW Schmid, JDG Jones
    "Concerted expansion and contraction of immune receptor gene repertoires in plant genomes"
    Nature Plants, 8, 1146-1152. (2022).
  • 5. *BPM Ngou, P Ding, JDG Jones
    "Thirty years of resistance: Zig-zag through the plant immune system"
    The Plant Cell, 34 (5), 1447-1478. (2022).
  • 6. *BPM Ngou, HK Ahn, P Ding, JDG Jones
    "Mutual potentiation of plant immunity by cell-surface and intracellular receptors"
    Nature, 592 (7852), 110-115. (2021).

Related Links

Lab Members

Principal investigator

Bruno Pok Man Ngou
RIKEN ECL Unit Leader

Contact Information

1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku,
Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
Email: pokman.ngou@riken.jp

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