Munehiro Asally
Bacteria are essential for many aspects of host functions. Although large-scale DNA sequencing projects have accumulated a myriad of data on microbiome, the spatio-temporal dynamics of bacteria-host interactions remain elusive.
My research group aims to provide a conceptual understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of biofilm-host interactions and apply the findings to build synthetic bacterial strains that manipulate host function. We combine live cell imaging, quantitative image analysis, computational modelling and genetic manipulation techniques to study the dynamics of biofilm formation.
Assistant Professor, University of Warwick, 2014-Present
Assistant Project Scientist, University of California San Diego, 2012-2014
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Texas Southwestern, 2009-2012
Postdoctoral Researcher, Osaka University, 2007-2009
Ph.D., Osaka University, 2007
M.Sc., Osaka University, 2004
B.Sc., Osaka City University, 2002
- Sirec, Teja, Benarroch, Jonatan M., Buffard, Pauline, Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi, Asally, Munehiro, 2019. Electrical polarization enables integrative quality control during bacterial differentiation into spores. iScience, 16, pp. 378-389
- Stratford, James P., Edwards, Conor L.A., Ghanshyam, Manjari J., Malyshev, Dmitry, Delise, Marco A., Hayashi, Yoshikatsu, Asally, Munehiro, 2019. Electrically induced bacterial membrane-potential dynamics correspond to cellular proliferation capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (9), pp. 9552-9557
- Zerfaß, Christian, Asally, Munehiro, Soyer, Orkun S., 2019. Interrogating metabolism as an electron flow system. Current Opinion in Systems Biology, 13, pp. 59-67
- Jiang, Xue, Zerfaß, Christian, Eichmann, Ruth, Asally, Munehiro, Schäfer, Patrick, Soyer, Orkun S., 2018. Impact of spatial organization on a novel auxotrophic interaction among soil microbes. ISME Journal, 12, pp. 1443-1456
- Zerfaß, Christian, Asally, Munehiro, Soyer, Orkun S., 2018. Interrogating metabolism as an electron flow system. Current Opinion in Systems Biology, 13, pp. 59-67
- Prindle, Arthur, Liu, Jintao, Asally, Munehiro, Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi, Suel, Gurol, 2018. A novel bacterial cell to cell communication mechanism. Biophysical Journal, 114 (3)
- Prindle, Arthur, Liu, Jintao, Asally, Munehiro, Ly, San, Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi, Süel, Gürol M., 2015. Ion channels enable electrical communication in bacterial communities. Nature, 527, pp. 59-63
- Liu, Jintao, Prindle, Arthur, Humphries, Jacqueline, Gabalda-Sagarra, Marçal, Asally, Munehiro, Lee, Dong-yeon D., Ly, San, Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi, Süel, Gürol M., 2015. Metabolic co-dependence gives rise to collective oscillations within biofilms. Nature, 523 (7562), pp. 550-554
- Oka, Masahiro, Moriyama, Tetsuji, Asally, Munehiro, Kawakami, Koichi, Yoneda, Yoshihiro, 2013. Differential role for transcription factor oct 4 nucleocytoplasmic dynamics in somatic cell reprogramming and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288 (21), pp. 15085-15097
- Asally, Munehiro, Kittisopikul, M., Rue, P., Du, Y., Hu, Z., Cagatay, T., Robinson, A. B., Lu, H., Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi, Suel, G. M., 2012. Localized cell death focuses mechanical forces during 3D patterning in a biofilm. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 (46), pp. 18891-18896
- Yasuda, Yoshinari, Miyamoto, Yoichi, Yamashiro, Tomoko, Asally, Munehiro, Masui, Ayumi, Wong, Chin, Loveland, Kate L, Yoneda, Yoshihiro, 2011. Nuclear retention of importin a coordinates cell fate through changes in gene expression. The EMBO Journal, 31 (1), pp. 83-94
- Asally, Munehiro, Yasuda, Yoshinari, Oka, Masahiro, Otsuka, Shotaro, Yoshimura, Shige H., Takeyasu, Kunio, Yoneda, Yoshihiro, 2011. Nup358, a nucleoporin, functions as a key determinant of the nuclear pore complex structure remodeling during skeletal myogenesis. FEBS Journal, 278 (4), pp. 610-621
- Jiang, Xue, Zerfaß, Christian, Eichmann, Ruth, Asally, Munehiro, Schäfer, P. (Patrick), Soyer, Orkun S., 2017. Impact of spatial organization on a novel auxotrophic interaction among soil microbes. Bio, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratories
| Title | Funder | Award start | Award end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control principle for super-survival system inspired by bacterial biofilm formation | Royal Society | 18 Mar 2019 | 17 Mar 2021 |
| Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB) | BBSRC | 14 Nov 2014 | 31 May 2020 |
| Rapid, portable, live bacterial cell detector ICURe Innovate application | Innovate UK | 01 Nov 2018 | 31 Dec 2019 |
| Electrical control of bacterial communities | Royal Society | 10 Mar 2016 | 09 Mar 2017 |