RIKEN ECL Team Leader
Chisako Sakuma
Ph.D.
Metabolic and Behavioral Physiology RIKEN ECL Research Team
LocationKobe / Developmental Biology Buildings
E-mailchisako.sakuma@riken.jp
Female mosquitoes alternate between a host-seeking phase and a reproductive phase, using nutrients from blood to mature eggs. Our lab investigates the molecular and physiological mechanisms regulating this gonotrophic cycle. We are particularly interested in how blood feeding is initiated or suppressed, and how internal factors control blood digestion, absorption, metabolism, and hormone-mediated tissue coordination during reproduction. We aim to identify key regulators of these processes and understand how they influence behavioral state transitions. By integrating neuroscience, endocrinology, and metabolism, we seek to uncover fundamental principles of mosquito biology and support the development of novel strategies for vector control.
Selected Publications
Kato Y, Sakuma C.
Extrinsic and intrinsic regulation of blood feeding in mosquitoes.
Current Opinion in Insect Science
65, 101221 (2024)
doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2024.101221
Sakuma C, Iwamoto T, Masuda K, et al.
Fibrinopeptide A-induced blood-feeding arrest in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti
Cell Reports
43, 114354 (2024)
doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114354
Sakuma C, Maekawa E, Kanuka H.
Automated Long-Term Monitoring of the Heat-Seeking Behavior of Mosquitoes.
Cold Spring harbor Protocols
11, 108173 (2023)
doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot108173
Sakuma C, Maekawa E, Kanuka H.
Key Features and Considerations for Using Automated Long-Term Monitoring of Heat-Seeking Behavior of Mosquitoes.
Cold Spring harbor Protocols
11, 107665 (2023)
doi: 10.1101/pdb.top107665
Sakuma C, Kanuka H.
A simple and affordable method for estimating the fluid volume a mosquito sucks using food dyes.
Tropical Medicine and Health
49, 13 (2021)
doi: 10.1186/s41182-021-00302-6
Sakuma C, Saito Y, Umehara T, et al.
The Strip-Hippo Pathway Regulates Synaptic Terminal Formation by Modulating Actin Organization at the Drosophila Neuromuscular Synapses.
Cell Reports
16(9), 2289-2297 (2016)
doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.07.066
Sakuma C, Okumura M, Umehara T, et al.
A STRIPAK component Strip regulates neuronal morphogenesis by affecting microtubule stability.
Scientific Reports
5, 17769 (2015)
doi: 10.1038/srep17769
Sakuma C, Kawauchi T, Haraguchi S, et al.
Drosophila Strip serves as a platform for early endosome organization during axon elongation.
Nature Communications
5, 5180 (2014)
doi: 10.1038/ncomms6180