{"id":1083,"date":"2026-01-22T14:42:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T05:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.initiative.ifs.isct.ac.jp\/?post_type=report&#038;p=1083"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:37:29","slug":"%e3%80%90elsi%e3%80%91how-are-metabolism-and-cell-growth-connected-a-mystery-over-180-years-old","status":"publish","type":"report","link":"https:\/\/www.initiative.ifs.isct.ac.jp\/en\/report\/rid1083\/","title":{"rendered":"\u3010ELSI\u3011How are metabolism and cell growth connected? \u2014 A mystery over 180 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"670\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/www.initiative.ifs.isct.ac.jp\/kanri\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251114_ELSI_Hatakeyama_PNAS.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-813\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image 1. Terraced Liebig\u2019s barrel<br>Terraced Liebig\u2019s barrel: A visualization of the concept of the global constraint principle in which the allocation of diverse resources determines cell growth kinetics. Credit: J.F. Yamagishi, and T.S. Hatakeyama,&nbsp;<em>PNAS<\/em>&nbsp;(2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Scientists discover a simple principle explaining how increased nutrient levels alter cell growth rate, revealing a universal law of microbial growth<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A research team including a scientist of Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, has identified a novel principle in biology that mathematically explains why the growth of organisms slows as nutrients become more abundant\u2014a phenomenon known as \u201cthe law of diminishing returns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding how living organisms grow under various nutritional environments has long been a central question in biology. Across microbes, plants, and animals, growth is shaped by the availability of nutrients, energy, and cellular machinery. While extensive research has explored these limitations, most studies focus only on individual nutrients or specific biochemical reactions, leaving a broader question unanswered: how do complex, interconnected cellular processes collectively regulate growth under constrained conditions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To address this, a research team consisting of ELSI\u2019s Specially Appointed Associate Professor Tetsuhiro S. Hatakeyama and RIKEN Special Postdoctoral Researcher Jumpei F. Yamagishi has discovered a unifying principle that explains how all living cells regulate growth when resources are limited. Their study introduces the global constraint principle for microbial growth, a concept that could transform how scientists approach the study of biological systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reference<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Jumpei F. Yamagishi, Tetsuhiro S. Hatakeyama. Global constraint principle for microbial growth laws. <em><i><strong>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\uff08PNAS\uff09<\/strong><\/i>. <\/em>DOI: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2515031122\">10.1073\/pnas.2515031122<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Full text of the press release<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Please see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elsi.jp\/en\/news_events\/highlights\/2025\/global_constraint_principle\/\">ELSI website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":813,"template":"","initiative":[4],"report_theme":[7],"media":[13],"report_tag":[29],"member":[31],"class_list":["post-1083","report","type-report","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","initiative-social-phase-transition","report_theme-report_theme-7","media-media-13","report_tag-elsi","member-tetsuhiro-hatakeyama","en-US"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u3010ELSI\u3011How are metabolism and cell growth connected? 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