Individual cells of multicellular organisms communicate with neighboring cells to maintain the organism. Each cell in a multicellular organism learns its role in the cell population through dynamic and intricate communication with surrounding and distant cells. We call this cell-to-cell communication as "holonic communication". However, it is still unclear how cells actually communicate with each other in a living organism.

　The goal of this project is to understand holonic communication in a living, multicellular organism. For this purpose, our project sets up three research groups for optical technology, engineering technology, and single-cell omics to make a new frontier in 'live cell biology' ― the real-time analysis of intercellular signaling in multicellular organisms.

　For live-cell analyses with complete control under the microscope, various new technologies are expected to be developed such as live-cell and single-molecule imaging, manipulation techniques for cell and molecules, interdisciplinary studies of plant biology and engineering technologies, and nano- and micro-device engineering. These technologies will be applicable to other fields, not only scientific instruments but also diagnosis methods for medical care, reproductive medicine, and breeding techniques for agriculture.