NEWSLETTER
Research Institute for Bioresources
Okayama University

Contents

Greeting

Topics at RIB

Greeting

A Letter from the Director

Director Kazuyoshi Takeda

Best regards from Kurashiki to our friends abroad, old members of our staff and alumni of the Research Institute for Bioresources Okayama University. Fifteen months have passed since I was elected director of the institute. Major topics of the past year are as follows:

Ninetieth anniversary:

As the newest director of the institute, it was a great pleasure to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the foundation of the institute.

In 1914, the institute was founded by the late Mr. Magosaburo Ohara for promoting agricultural researches. Since then, a number of outstanding research achievements were published by the staff members of the institute.

The institute was joined to Okayama University, which was established after World War II, and ca. 300 graduated students (250 Master’s and 50 PhD) finished their course work in the institute. At present ca. 140 members including 36 academic staff members and ca. 50 graduate students are affiliated to the institute.

On December 17, 2004, we celebrated this anniversary at the Kurashiki City Museum Hall followed by a banquet at the Kurashiki International Hotel. About 200 participants including the president of Okayama University, university staffs, representatives of the local community, old staff members, and alumni of the institute and others joined the celebration. On December 18, a memorial symposium was also held at the City Museum Hall.

Through the celebration, we pledged to expand our research activities for the coming centennial anniversary of the institute.

Open house:

On May 14, 2005, the institute was open to the public. About 400 citizens of all generations visited the institute. We exhibited the recent advances of the research works and demonstrated experimental procedures. Barley and wild plant collections were exhibited. We welcomed a number of senior high school students who might become students of Okayama University in the future. We will continue the open house project as an important activity to maintain good relations with the local community.

Field day on the milk vetch farm:

Since 1995, we have opened the milk vetch field for children attending the kindergartens and elementary schools in the Kurashiki district. The milk vetch, a green manure crop is grown on the experimental farm of the institute for keeping the soil in good condition. Before plowing, each year, the field is open for children to enjoy the flowers, to observe the insects visiting flowers and for jogging in the field. I am indebted to Professor Masahiko Maekawa, head of the experimental field for his arrangement. During these 11 years ca. 10,000 children visited our field. We believe this is a good opportunity for them to have contact with nature. We are expecting many of them to enter Okayama University in the near future.

Public lectures:

For a long time we have been organizing public lectures for the citizens. Every year, four to six members of institute held a cause, and ca. 40 citizens with various generations took interest in these causes. We believe this is also an important activity to maintain good public relations with the local community.

(The lectures will be held on July 23 and 30, 2005.)

Big science projects:

Recently we are conducting a number of big science projects, the details of which will be reported elsewhere, and accordingly the research funds from outside the university amounted to 200 million yen in 2004. As a result, the output of the research activities is increasing: the number of publications by the members of the institute is reaching 100 per year. It should be noted that in 2004 and 2005, Professors Kazuyoshi Takeda and Hideaki Matsumoto were awarded the Japan Prize of Agricultural Science, the biggest prize in the field of agricultural science. We hope to continue these activities in the future.

(Professor Kazuyoshi Takeda, Barley and wild plant resource center, May. 2005)

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RIB Green Roof Project

Assoc. Prof. Maki Katsuhara

Our research institute celebrated the 90^th anniversary last December. As a related memorial event, the RIB Green Roof Project was started. This project has been officially supported by the institute and encouraged by the Director, Prof. Takeda.

The following members have made a special team for this project..

Prof. Maitani, Associate Prof. Enomoto, Associate Prof. Tanakamaru, Associate Prof. Katsuhara, Assistant Prof. Mori, Assistant Prof. Tani, and Assistant Prof. Utsugi.

Although none of our staff had any previous experience in green-roofing or was a specialist in revegetation, our team consisted of specialists in plant ecology and taxonomy, plant physiology, and meteorology and micro-environment.

We had our first meeting on January 12, 2005. On March 3, we invited Prof Murase (Osaka Prefecture University) to have a seminar on recent trends and technology in this field. On April 28, we visited Shimane University where a greening project was being pursued. Although on a small scale, we are making a substantial step by introducing vegetation at the rooftop of RIB Research Building-1 this summer. This will be the first green-roofing project in Okayama University.

In this project, we hope to establish a suitable combination of plant species and growth management for summer in Kurashiki. We are monitoring the plant growth and changes in environmental parameters including roof and in-door temperatures. In addition to the established plants (Sedum mexicanum), additional plants will be tested through this project to select new candidate plants useful for green-roofing. Such plants, including red book (threatened) species, are Orostachys erubescens (=Sedum erubescens ); Sedum polytrichoides Hemsl. subsp. yabeanum (Makino) H.Ohba var. setouchiense (Murata et Yuasa) H.Ohba; Monochoria korsakowii; and so on.

(Associate Professor Maki Katsuhara, May 2005)

Messages from Visiting Professors

Impressions and Comments by Dr. Wang Jiemin



It has been a great honor for me to be a Visiting Professor of Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University.

I am very grateful for your kind support during my stay in last ten months.

I believe that RIB is a very good institute. It has founded in as early as 1914, and then has carried out research on bioresources from the wide viewpoints for 70 years. The long history of RIB has established not only a large and beautiful environment, but also an excellent research tradition and conditions. As a middle-sized research institute, RIB has been famous in both domestic and international science communities.

From my more than 40 years’ scientific career, I believe that an easy and cooperative research environment of RIB is advantageous, particularly for young scientists. Of course, they are working very hard, even in the evening and weekend.

I am not a biologist and could not give specific comments in the main area of RIB. From a very general point of view, I think a clear orientation of an institute (with only about 50 staff members) is vital in moving to an ‘Independent University Cooperation’, as I commented to the DPRI of Kyoto University. It is a normal trend in national research institute that, with the times, its concerned area becomes broader, and the research groups become more diversified. So, an effective coordination is always necessary, and should be concerned by all professors of the institute.

Good scientists are always the kernel of a good institute. I hope that RIB could have more talent young scientists, including selected Ph.D. or post Doc students from other countries, in the future.

(Professor, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

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Informal summary of a scientist’s experiences as a Visiting Professor in the Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University, April 25 to September 24, 2004 by Dr. Levonas Manusadzianas

First I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Isao Aoyama and Professor Hideaki Matsumoto, the former Director, for the invitation to spend five months as a Visiting Professor at the Laboratory of Ecological Response for Chemical Stressors. From the very first day I felt precious attention of my host professor Isao Aoyama and this made my way of living and everyday working in unusual environment both pleasant and smooth. My thanks extend to the Institute Director Professor Kazuyoshi Takeda and his staff for the creation of friendly atmosphere to let a foreigner feel as being a member of the Institute Community. I would like also to thank Associate Professor Susumu Nakashima for his never-ending patience in introducing me step-by step into Japanese culture during common daily obentou.

The Institute is very privileged in having excellent library, which is well stockpiled with the periodicals covering the main biological, agricultural and toxicological research areas of the Institute Divisions and Centres. It was especially useful when less recent papers were needed, since Internet access, while being exceptionally powerful through the sites of Okayama University, usually has the depth of 5-7 years. I found the library staff to be very helpful in fulfilling requests from remote sources as well as always ready for kind advice.

The general impression that I acquired at the Research Institute for Bioresources is very good, in terms of contemporary research facilities, staff qualities, publications in international scientific press as well as academic freedom, the driving force of any scientific research. During my stay, I had a chance to visit several laboratories including those of the Groups of Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plant Stress Responses lead by Prof. H. Matsumoto, Advanced Engineering of Adaptation for Bioenvironment lead by Assoc. Profs. S. Nakashima and B. Ezaki, Molecular and Functional Plant Biology lead by Prof. M. Katsuhara, and Barley and Wild Plant Resources lead by Profs. K. Takeda and K. Sato, and, of course, my host laboratory of the Group of Ecological Response for Chemical Stressors lead by Prof. I. Aoyama. All of them could confirm my above opinion, however, the usage of some highly complex analytical equipment could be problematic due to the lack of appropriate technicians on demand. Additional technical staff would be of particular help for the students that are fulfilling their PhD or graduation programs. Since significant number of abroad PhD students and researchers as well as inclusions of Visiting Professors permanently do perform research in Kurashiki, the submission of any equipment with English software would be highly welcomed and useful for Japanese students, too.

I myself found a very open and friendly atmosphere in the laboratory of Prof. I. Aoyama, where I together with PhD student Helmi Hamdi have spent much time conducting toxicological experiments on soil toxicity by applying newly developed biotesting techniques. Warm feelings are also extended to all multinational personnel and the students of the laboratory. During my stay in Kurashiki I made many friendships and acquaintances, thanks to scientific and social events both in RIB, and outside the Institute. These included attendance of International Symposium on ‘Al Stress Research in Plants’ organised by Prof. H. Matsumoto, and Ecotoxicological Meeting at Chiba University, visits to meet colleagues ecotoxicologists at the laboratories of the National Institute of Health and Toyama Prefecture University. Besides meeting Japanese scientists and discussing research problems at seminars, these visits gave me an opportunity to experience the diversity and beauty of Japan in terms of geography, traditions and culture. Travels and sightseeing of Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Shiragama and Toyama regions remain the most wonderful experiences in my life. Finally, I would like to say thanks to all of those who have given me their helping hands during my stay at the Institute and everywhere in the country.

Sayonara & iki pasimatymo!

Levonas Manusadzianas,

(Dr Sci, Senior Research Scientist, Head of Aquatic Toxicology Unit, Institute of Botany, Vilnius, Lithuania)

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Personal comments by Dr. Danks Hugh Victor

For 4.3 months in 2004-2005 I worked at the Institute as invited visiting foreign professor in the Group of Insect Physiology and Molecular Biology led by Prof. Hisaaki Tsumuki. I am indebted to Prof. Tsumuki for the invitation, for all of his work required to arrange for my stay, and for his hospitality. He also generously made his assistant Mr. Izumi available to help me. I am also very grateful to Mr. Izumi, who showed initiative, interest, and the courage to use and improve his English, that are necessary for effective interactions with foreign visitors. He helped me and my wife in numerous ways relating both to work and to outside matters. Others at the Institute were also helpful in various ways. We appreciated the functions to which we were invited (welcome party, Institute New Year dinner, etc.), as both enjoyable cultural activities and a chance to meet others from the Institute.

Staying in an apartment on the Institute campus was particularly useful too because it was so convenient for my work and for my wife’s visits to the library, the Bikan area, and so on. I was also pleased that the location is quiet, with no heavy rail or road traffic nearby. We liked that apartment very much, with its bright daylight and garden view in the main room.

From a work point of view, my stay at the Institute has been very helpful, albeit not entirely in the form anticipated. Among other activities I had hoped to develop a small laboratory project with the Group, but this did not prove feasible, for several reasons. For example, such a short period would require joining an ongoing project, but the laboratory complement is rather small and most people proved to have more limited ability in the English language than I had expected from email communications. Moreover, it was winter, so that field activity, the rearing of laboratory colonies and the availability of insect material were limited. However, with more time to concentrate on research than in my Canadian office, I completed manuscripts in progress and in particular prepared for a Japanese journal two new reviews relevant to the work of the Group, as invited by Prof. Tsumuki. Moreover, I was able to accept invitations to visit laboratories outside Kurashiki, and these too provided valuable opportunities to discuss research and other relevant topics with many Japanese scientists and students, as well as to pursue interests in student education and international initiatives. Attendance at the annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Applied Entomology and Zoology was also very valuable.

In addition, I undertook to review a very large number of manuscripts as requested by colleagues, including several from other laboratories inside and outside the Institute. Although this task is very time-consuming because of the need to consider language as well as content, I was pleased to do so because I have published some material in the French language and know how difficult it is to finalize a text without the assistance of a native speaker, even in a language that is much more similar to English than is Japanese.

Given the nature of those activities, I did not use technical laboratory materials, but my work was helped by the good computer system and necessary assistance provided, and by the fact that Okayama University has agreements enabling me to secure additional journal access, including pdf files, through the internet. With internet access, the extensive personal bibliographic databases I had brought with me, and occasional help from my assistant in Canada, the preparation of manuscripts went relatively smoothly. The fact that I had the visiting scientists’ office to myself most of the time was very beneficial.

Our stay was also extremely interesting from a more general point of view. As Prof. Tsumuki had pointed out early on, Kurashiki is a very nice place to live, with very good historical and other sights in a community that is not unduly large. We especially enjoyed the historical area near the canal. We appreciated the kindness of the many people who helped us despite my limited knowledge of Japanese, including shopkeepers, post-office staff, train agents, and so on. Various cultural, language, and other facilities were available. We enjoyed dining in several kinds of restaurants, but also enjoyed catering for ourselves, although I fear that a few of those meals reflected Japanese techniques that had been unusually modified. Also, in association with visits to institutions elsewhere and during some other traveling, we were able to visit many interesting places in some other parts of Japan.

In summary, my short term at the Institute has been an invaluable experience. From a scientific perspective it provided me with a variety of scientific inputs, favoured additional international contacts, and allowed me to concentrate on research and develop additional ideas. Moreover, my wife and I enjoyed the cultural experience enormously, which has served to increase our interest in the history, food, language, and other aspects of Japan. I look forward very much to remaining in touch with colleagues here, and to visiting Japan again in the future.

Hugh Danks

(Head, Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

Canadian Museum of Nature Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) (Kurashiki, March 28, 2005)

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Impressions by Dr. Sodmergen
４ヶ月間を振りかえって

私は坂本亘教授との共同研究のため、毎年、岡山大学資源生物科学研究所にお邪魔していますが、それも今年で十年目となりました。そのために研究所の先生や学生に数多くの知り合いができ、一年ぶりに会うと“また来ましたね”と挨拶されます。しかし、今年はいつもと少し違い、７月１日から１０月３１日までという４ヶ月の長い期間を外国人特別研究員（客員教授）の身分で滞在することになりました。日々の経つのが早く、あっという間に４ヶ月間が過ぎてしまいました。この４ヶ月間を振りかえって見ますと、私は研究所における研究の進展や最近の改組の成果を学び、数多くの先生と科学研究及び研究費のあり方、それに具体的な研究内容や方法についても議論することができました。これらのことを通じて、私は資生研に新たな活気を感じ、自分の今後の大きな励ましにもなりました。長くて短い４ヶ月間でしたが、私にとって大変有意義な時間でした。
　まず、今回の研究所訪問で初めて知ったのが“ジャーナルクラブ”という勉強会でした。若い研究者を中心としたグループが新しい或いは面白い論文を積極的に読んで白熱的に議論することは皆さんの研究への熱意を反映しているように思います。また、皆さんと話をすると、各自の業績（論文）や研究費の申請への真剣さも以前になかった強いものになっています。このような動向は、近年、資生研で進められてきた「改革」によるものだろうと思いました。従来この研究所で多くの先生方々が築き上げた特徴のある素晴らしい研究に加え、最近持たらされた若手の活気が、いっそう資生研を日本及び世界で競争力のある研究機関に持ち上げるだろうと感じました。中国の主な大学でも、最近、競争を研究に導入しています。そのやり方は日本と似たようなところもありますので、今後、資生研の経験を参考にしたいと思います。
　以前から資生研へ来るたびに、私はここの図書館を利用しました。中国で見つからなかった学術誌や忙しくて読み損ねた論文をここの図書館からコピーし、または図書館を通じて取り寄せて読みます。中国では図書館と図書館の間のネットワークがまだ確立されていません。このため、大学の図書館にない学術誌を読む場合、自ら科学院あるいは市の図書館へ足を運ばなければなりません。行き来に時間がかかりますので、ついに多くの重要な論文を読み損ねることになります。私はこの問題を資生研の図書館では解決することができました。近年、岡山大学の電子ジャーナルは大変に豊富になり、また日本全国からの論文（ハードコピー）の取り寄せも早くて便利なので、私は今回も沢山の論文をダンロードしたり取り寄せてもらったりして読みました。本国の大学を離れれば、日常の雑用からも解放されますので、ゆっくりと考えながら読むことが出来ました。研究者に時々ゆっくりと論文を読むことは大事な“充電”だと思っています。今回の４ヶ月間の充電により私はいくつか重要な研究案に思いつき、国に帰ったらさっそく実験を始めようと思います。
　交流と充電のほかに、私は今回、資生研で具体的な研究活動に加わることも出来ました。シロイヌナズナの花粉に関する突然変異体の解析は、これまで坂本亘教授と行っている共同研究の一つですが、今回は松島良助手も一緒に、この解析を引き続き進めました。実験に用いた材料は花粉の栄養細胞にオルガネラDNAが沢山残る変異体で、私が協力したのはDNAを残すオルガネラの同定などです。簡単そうに思われる実験ですが、胞子に当たる花粉の電顕観察は従来から難しいものだと知られ、今回も苦戦しました。幸いに多くの手法を試した結果、最後に納得の行く電顕像が得られ、DNAを残すオルガネラはミトコンドリアではなく、プラスチドであることが分かりました。このことは遺伝子の機能を理解するために重要な結果で、続く解析に役立つでしょう。また、今回私達が見いだした花粉の観察法により、非常に鮮明にオルガネラを観察することがわかったので、新たな手法として確立したいと思います。
　資生研で坂本さんと実験をしているとき、以前から感心して学んだことの一つとして共通機器の管理と使用とがあります。高価で重要な設備を共同で購入して使用することは効率的だと中国でも思われています。しかし、中国の大学では共通で使用することより研究室による管理が強調され、誰でも２４時間使える態勢とせず、ついに管理する研究室のものになってしまうケースがほとんどです。私は２年前に電子顕微鏡の管理を任され、このとき、資生研のやり方を導入しました。その結果、今では電顕室が開放され、誰もがいつでも気軽に利用できるものになっています。資生研では共通機器の使用に問題がなく、とても素晴らしいと思います。この上にメンテナンスの費用や機器の場所などをさらに合理化して確保すれば、共通機器がよりよい効率で皆さんの研究に役立つでしょう。
　私は今回、おもに電子顕微鏡を使った実験を坂本さん、松島さんとしました。２年前と比べれば電顕室とその暗室がかなり狭くなっています。原因の一つは資生研に電顕の使用者が少ないからでしょう。記録を見ても、使ったのは私ともう一人の先生ぐらいで、ほとんど機械が稼動していないことも事実です。確かに世界的に電顕に頼って仕事をする研究者が一時減りました。しかし、ここ数年、分子生物学の研究においても細胞構造の変化を確かめたデータが求められる傾向になりつつあります。北京大学でも、一時、年間十数時間しか稼動しない電顕が今、使用者が順番待ちをする状態となっています。今回資生研に来る直前に、蛋白質の高次構造を解析している教授から電顕の使用申請があり、予想外だったのでとても驚きました。でも、蛋白質の高次構造も電顕で観察できるのは事実です。今後よりよい結果を出すために、多くの研究分野において電顕が不可欠になるでしょう。利用者の一人として、資生研でも、電顕室をより大事にし、出来れば顕微鏡の更新が近い将来あればと願っています。
　今回資生研で場所が狭くなったと感じたのは電顕室だけではありません。複数の先生から場所が足りないと聞きました。私が実験をしている坂本さんの実験室も面積的にぎりぎりで、松島さんと学生さんの部屋も実験室と一緒で、生物学の実験を行うために必要なドラフトは付けられていません。このため、私は庭に降りて危険物を使う操作をすることもありました。私の勝手な考えですが、これまでの私の観察では、研究所の総面積は決して小さくなく、また、十年前と比べて教官の人数はほとんど変わっていませんので、面積が足りないことには恐らく使用の合理化に余地があるのではないかと思います。北京大学では実験室面積を有料使用とした結果、かなりスペースが空くようになりました。また、徴収された使用料は共通の機器管理などに活用しています。客員教授の身分で、色々提案することは余計なのかもしれませんが、北京大学の経験が資生研に参考になれればと思います。
　以上のように振り替えって見ますと、私は資生研で勉強、交流、充電、実験と大変充実した４ヶ月間を過ごすことができました。今回、客員教授としてこの貴重な機会与えていただいた資生研、そして岡山大学に感謝を申し上げます。また、大変お世話になった先生と学生の方々にお礼を申し上げながら、私の報告とさせていただきます。

2005年10月31日

(北京大学生命科学学院　教授)

(in Japanese)

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Personal Impressions as a Visiting Researcher at the Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University
by Dr. Paul Talbert

Kurashiki, March 28, 2006

I am very grateful and honored to have received the invitation from Director Takeda and Drs. Murata and Nagaki to spend five months as a visiting researcher at the Research Institute for Bioresources. The RIB has been welcoming and generous in its support, and provided opportunities not only to work with my host lab and interact with other labs at the Institute, but has also aided in hosting the RNAi conference and in supporting my travels to other labs in Japan. This has been a very valuable experience for me, and I hope that I have been able to contribute a small amount in return.

　The project I selected, investigating the conservation of a centromeric histone protein in dinoflagellates, which have been thought to lack histones, has unfortunately proven to be quite intractable because of technical issues. Dr. Murata and Dr. Nagaki have nevertheless generously provided technical suggestions and laboratory resources to aid me. I also received help from Dr. Sakamoto’s lab, and as a result of travel supported by the RIB, from Dr. Andreas Houben, a visiting professor at the University of Kyoto, and from Dr. Kato Koichi at Nagoya City University. As of this writing, Dr. Kato is still trying to help me resolve the technical problems with this project.

　Although my project has not been very fruitful, my visit with Dr. Houben, who is collaborating with Drs. Murata and Nagaki on investigating holocentric chromosomes in Luzula, has led to my being able to contribute a small amount to this collaboration, namely providing an evolutionary analysis of centromeric histones in Luzula species. I have also reviewed manuscripts and participated in discussions of lab research reports and journal clubs. In retrospect, I regret that I did not participate more regularly in journal clubs from the beginning of my stay because I over-estimated the language difficulties. Since the papers are generally in English, I might have been able to contribute more here than I did.

　The RIB is a well-equipped and diverse place. At the beginning of my stay, I wondered numerous times whether the chemicals or equipment necessary for certain experiments were available, and each time I found that they were. I am also impressed by the diversity of topics being studied here, and was pleased to find a breadth of on-line journal subscriptions available. The expertise of researchers here is quite good, as evidenced by the numerous awards they have received.

　It is my general impression that Japanese students are on the whole a bit more shy or quiet than their American counterparts. Because discussion and questioning of data are critical to scientific development, I believe that it is important to encourage students to actively participate in discussions. Since I am not aware of all aspects of student training here, I’m uncertain as to what additional encouragements could be tried, but perhaps occasional student-led poster sessions or discussion groups might encourage greater interaction.

　I am particularly grateful for all the extra work undertaken by Drs. Murata and Nagaki to translate for me and my family. When we struggled with understanding my daughter’s first grade homework, Dr. Nagaki would help to translate, and when we needed a doctor, Dr. Murata accompanied us. Their assistance in these and many other situations made our time here relatively trouble-free.

　The use of the apartment on campus was also very helpful to my family. The apartment is generously sized for a family of three, and the karin in the backyard made excellent jam. It is conveniently located for work, and also for my daughter’s school, Kurashiki Nishi Sho Gakko, where we were extremely fortunate to get a teacher who spoke English and who worked hard to help my daughter feel fully included.

　In addition, the very inexpensive rent for the apartment enabled my family to do a fair amount of traveling in Japan that greatly enriched our experience of Japanese culture. We were able to make several trips to Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Marugame, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Tokyo, in addition to enjoying the rich offerings of Kurashiki and Okayama. We particularly enjoyed bicycling in Kibi-ji, visiting Miyajima with Dr. Murata, and feeding saru at Arashiyama. We also took advantage of Okayama-ken’s International Villa program for foreign visitors, which enabled us to go bird-watching in Ushimado and hiking on Shiraishi Jima.

　The spirit of international exchange on both cultural and scientific levels has been an invaluable experience. I am deeply grateful to Drs. Murata and Nagaki, my co-workers in their lab, Director Takeda and the staff of the RIB, Okayama University, the teachers of Kurashiki Nishi Sho Gakko, our neighbors, and many other people in Japan for their kind assistance throughout our visit. I look forward to maintaining contact with my Japanese colleagues and hope to be able to visit again in the future.

(Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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Impressions of the Institute for Bioresources at Okayama University
by Dr. Lawrence E. Datnoff

The experience I had as a visiting professor at the Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University, Kurashiki was highly rewarding on both a professional and personal basis. Professionally, I had the opportunity to work with the leading authority on silicon in plants, Dr. Jian Feng Ma. In fact, I also learned that Dr. Ma is a leading expert in understanding both physiologically and molecularly how plants tolerate Al, Fe and Cd. He has surrounded himself with a great group of hardworking and determined graduate students and postdocs, all whom are helping to further elucidate the above. It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to learn from them about their individual research projects and to observe their genuine curiosity about the research they were conducting. I also enjoyed seeing how Dr. Ma creates a warm working environment that makes his students and postdoc’s feel like a family.
As I mentioned, Dr. Ma’s lab is leading the world in understanding how silicon functions in plants. His group was the first to demonstrate and characterize silicon transporter genes in rice. His group is currently studying other plant species to determine if silicon transporter genes are present. In addition, Ma’s group knows how to quantify both the insoluble and soluble silicon content of plants. By using his silicon research approaches, Dr. Ma and I were able to better resolve the potential mechanism of how this element is affecting plant disease development. In particular, we used a silicon nutrient culture method to test the hypothesis of whether silicon confers resistance to plant disease (rice/Magnaporthe oryzae pathosystem) via a mechanical barrier (polyermization of Si in plant tissue-insoluble silicon) or through soluble silicon amplifying a plant mediated defense response via the production of enzymes or phytolexins. Preliminary results suggest that perhaps both the insoluble and soluble silicon confer rice blast resistance. We still have some more data to collect such as insoluble and soluble silicon in the leaf tissue and the number of silica bodies formed. In addition, RNA will be extracted from tissue collected 24 and 72 hours after inoculation and will be subjected to microarray analysis using the new rice gene chip. Hopefully, this information might reveal which genes are up or down regulated by silicon during the infection process. Based on all the above, I believe that Dr. Ma and I will have some great information to report in the not too distant future.
While working with Dr. Ma, I also had the opportunity to meet and learn about other outstanding research programs at the institute that included the plant-microbe interaction group, entomology, soil science and remediation, and plant breeding especially with barley. All these programs have state of the art equipment for conducting research. Needless-to-say, all of these units are conducting cutting-edge research, and training many students not only from Japan but from other countries such as China, Greece, Paraguay, Tunsia and Turkey. Interestingly, the institute also focused on presenting their research findings to the general public by having an open house which they do annually. So, this institute does a terrific job of communicating not only to the scientific community but to the community at large.
Personally, I was able to have better than a bird’s eye view on the Japanese culture. The food, customs, language and scenery were all remarkable and fascinating. I enjoyed the wide variety of delicious fish and vegetable dishes, and the exquisite style of food presentation was titillating to the eyes. I truly delighted in the custom of having hot towels provided to clean one’s face and hands before each meal; we need to adopt this method back in the US. The language was fun to learn, and I enjoyed the few phrases that I mastered. In fact, I became so good at greeting people, that one night at one of the yakitori, where I sort of know the owners, I greeted the owner and our exchange went so well that one of her other customers began to talk to me since he thought I could speak Japanese fluently. The landscape also was so picturesque from the rice fields surrounding the farmers’ homes to the rolling hills and mountains to the Shinto Shrines and Buddhist’s Temples, truly a land of the rising sun.

(UFRF Professor of Plant Pathology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida)

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Impressions of the Institute of Bioresources at Okayama University
by Dr. Fangjie Zhao

It was a great honour for me to be invited as a visiting professor at the Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University. Although I spent only a brief period (two months) here at Kurashiki, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience both professionally and personally. Before I came to the Institute, I already had some collaboration with Professor Jian Feng Ma on the research of metal uptake and detoxification in hyperaccumulator plants, with four joint publications over the last two years. This visit served to further strengthen the on-going collaboration. I had numerous discussions with Professor Ma, and benefited greatly from his experience and knowledge, particularly from the molecular physiology aspect. Overall, I am much impressed by the cutting edge research of Professor Ma’s group. They have a great strength in combining the approaches of plant physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics in plant nutrition and stress research. I am also very impressed by the enthusiasm and hard-working attitude of the postdocs and PhD students in Professor Ma’s group. I participated and enjoyed their regular group meetings, and learnt a great deal from them. The research facilities were also excellent.
Professor Ma is an internationally leading scientist in the research areas of Si and Fe nutrition, and Al tolerance mechanisms in higher plants. While at the Research Institute of Bioresources, I had the opportunity to conduct some experiments to characterise the rice naat1 mutant that has a point mutation in the naat gene. The gene encodes nicotianamine aminotransferase, which is a crucial enzyme in the biosynthesis of phytosiderophores that are important for Fe acquisition in graminaceous plants. The naat1 mutant showed severe symptoms of Fe deficiency when grown in soil under dry land conditions, but was able to grow normally under submerged conditions. This suggests that the mutant was able to take up Fe(II) under reduced conditions, but could not acquire Fe(III) from aerobic soils efficiently. Using the facilities of Professor Ma’s laboratory, we demonstrated that the mutant could not secret any phytosiderophores, unlike the wide type rice that secreted a large amount of 2’-deoxymugineic acid in response to Fe deficiency. This explains the phenotype exhibited by the naat1 mutant grown in an aerobic soil. Surprisingly, the mutation of the naat1 gene led to upregulation of a range of metal transporter genes, which probably explains why the mutant took up significantly more Zn and Cd than the wide type in our experiments. The experiments that I conducted at the Research Institute of Bioresources form a part of a larger project led by Professor Wu Ping of Zhejiang University, China. I am confident that we will be able to produce a good paper together from this project.
During my short stay in Japan, I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference of the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition in Akita, where I met some old friends and made new friends, and the international workshop on biomonitoring and environmental protection organised by the Research Institute for Bioresources. I enjoyed informal discussions and exchange of ideas with Japanese colleagues in these meetings.
My brief stay in Japan enabled me to have a deeper understanding of the Japanese culture and the way of life. Public transport in Japan is so much better than that in the UK. Everywhere in Japan that I visited, service was always fantastic. I greatly appreciated the friendly atmosphere and peaceful environment in the research institute and the local city Kurashiki, as well as in several cities that I visited. All in all, this visit was a very memorable experience for me.

(Principal Research Scientist, Agriculture and Environment Division, Rothamsted Research)

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Topics at RIB

Message from Emeritus Professor Hideaki Matsumoto on the occasion of his retirement

After having retired from Okayama University on March 31, 2005, I am now Emeritus Professor. In 1979, I came to this institute from Kyoto University to serve as associate professor of laboratory of Crop Physiology (Professor Toshio Kawasaki). My first research topic here concerned the physiological and biochemical function of calcium in crop plants. Major research on this topic was to understand the metabolic changes in cucumber under calcium deficiency. Membrane function was easily damaged in cucumber roots under calcium deficiency. Furthermore, I found the specific increase of alkaline phosphatase in cucumber roots treated with calcium deficiency. Then my research topic became aluminum stress which I had been studying at Kyoto University before coming to this institute. The purpose of Al stress research was to improve the crop production in acid soil. When we consider the burst of population and increasing environmental stress such as acidification of soil in the world, it is becoming more and more important to increase of crop production on acid soils which comprises 30% of the total arable land in the world. Aluminum is a major growth-limiting factor for plants in acid soil. Therefore it is important to understand the mechanism of aluminum toxicity and tolerance. Among with my co-workers, I have conducted research focusing on aluminum stress and have established one of the most important research bases on aluminum stress research in the world. At least 32 scientists from 14 different countries have worked in my laboratory each staying for at least one-month. I have organized international symposia on aluminum stress held in 1997, 2000 and 2004 in Kurashiki. We have taken approaches involving inhibition of cell division, oxygen stress and damage of function of cell walls and membrane etc. Furthermore, physiological and molecular mechanisms of aluminum tolerance have been investigated. The most important finding made during my service was of a real aluminum tolerance gene from wheat root tips. This work was carried out by cooperative research between our group (Sasaki et al.) and the CSIRO group in Australia. During my service at Kyoto University and Okayama University which totaled 38 years , I published approximately 200 original papers and 53 book articles and reviews. As a result of my aluminum stress research, I was awarded the Prize of Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition in 1993 and Japan Agriculture Prize in 2005.

I also contributed administrative work as director of the institute for 4 years from 2000 to 2003. Tasks as a director were difficult because in 2004 the national university administrative system was to change from a government-owned organization to a new Independent Administrative Agency. We had to make many changes for the transfer to new system.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all staff members, students and collaborators for their kindness and friendship. I look forward to the successful development of the institute in the future. Yours sincerely, Hideaki Matsumoto

(Emeritus Professor Hideaki Matsumoto. May 2005)

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Establishment of Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd.

Assoc. Prof. Kazuhiro Sato, Representative of the company

Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd. is a venture company established on April, 2005 by some faculty members of the Research Institute of Bioresources, Okayama University. Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd. is an enterprise based on genome information of barley, aiming to develop breeding technologies by new genome science-relating technologies. Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd. seeks, through this venture, to encourage research in basic breeding so as to promote it and make it more efficient, and to contribute to food production for human beings. Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd. specifically deals in the following business areas:

・ Sale of gene markers in unit of chromosome

・ Support for developing gene markers

・ Development of gene identification and gene analysis systems using variety-specific gene markers

・ Research and development of breeding systems using Genetic Map

Okayama Barley Genome Technology Co., Ltd. aims to connect, with business, technologies developed via research at the university and to provide a more efficient system to researchers all over the world and breeders by developing the system, through this business and research and development.

The primer sets covering the barley genome released as the first product of the company

Chairman: Kazuyoshi TAKEDA
(Professor of the Research Institute of Bioresources, Okayama University)

Representative Director: Kazuhiro SATO
(Associate Professor of the Research Institute of Bioresources, Okayama University)

Director: Kenzo HARA
(Patent Attorney, Director General of HARAKENZO World Patent & Trademark Patent Law Firm)

Auditor: Syozo YASUDA
(Emeritus Prof. of Okayama University)

Head Office
Address: 1169-40 Ariki, Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture 710-0031 Japan
TEL: 090-1334-4723 E-mail:okbarley@bioweb.ne.jp

(Associate Prof. Kazuhiro Sato, Barley and wild plant resource center, May. 2005)

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Post-Doctoral Fellow

Dr. Fukashi Shibata (Group of Nuclear Genomics)

The medaka is a lovely small fish and a threatened species, described in the red data book. However, we can find medaka easily in Kurashiki. A lot of medakas live in the irrigation canal the rice field. It is a common fish species in Kurashiki though it almost annihilates in other regions of Japan. Is it because nature is preserved in Kurashiki? This may not be the case. The irrigation canal has been hardened with concrete, and now garbage and sewage flow into the irrigation canal. Then how can a lot of medaka live in Kurashiki? The reason is unknown, but we know the importance to keep the environment where the medaka can live. In Kurashiki, a lot of irrigation canals exist because Kurashiki is a town established by the land reclamation. For protection of the environment, we must not pollute these irrigation canals. We need to think about the excessive use of agricultural chemicals. A lot of herbicides are sprayed in the R.I.B. every year. It is now summer, and it should be the green-grass season, but the ground at the R.I.B. is covered with dry grass. I feel that the usage of herbicides is not necessary. It is now important to think about the necessity of agricultural chemicals and how to use them without harming the environment. I hope to continue full efforts toward protecting the environment for all living beings. (May. 2005)

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International Student

Mr. Helmi HAMDI (Group of Ecological Reaction for Chemical Stress)

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the editorial board of the RIB newsletter for offering me this opportunity to describe my experience of living in Japan. Before coming to Nippon, I was a Research Engineer at the Water and Environment Lab, taking part in the National Institute for Scientific and Technical Research, Tunisia. I had no clear idea about the social life or customs of the country…I just had a vague image of Japan being a hi-tech country with robots, electronics and of course hardworking! My idea changed the day a senior JICA expert (Dr. Mitsuo Yoshida) came to our Lab for a 2-year stay. Since then, a collaboration programme between our Lab and JICA has been implemented. I had the opportunity of working closely with him on different environmental aspects: soil pollution, sediment contamination and organic pollution. Through my daily contact with him, I learned many things of vital interest while in Japan, for instance, not to miss an appointment and how to respect your superior. Meanwhile, my wish to come to Japan to earn a PhD was realized: during an international symposium held in Tunisia (EPCOWM’2002), I met Prof. Ikeguchi who introduced me to Prof. Aoyama and things went by so fast and I found my self at Narita International Airport by April 2003. In fact, I found the Japanese life so wonderful and I haven’t experienced any major trouble, so far. In my Lab, a familial atmosphere is reigning. I am designating it as the UN organization because we are many “Gaikokujin” from different countries (Tunisia, Greece, Indonesia, China, Paraguay and Japan). Working under the supervision of Prof. Aoyama is also a pleasure. I was surprised by the availability of things…I mean the labs are so well equipped and all you ask for, comes at once! I think that’s make the difference between developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, I wish I could find a dormitory for international students, a small gym and a soccer field in our institute.

Last summer, I got married and my wife has totally changed my life. We come together to Lab and she is carrying out some experiments as a part of her Tunisian PhD, thanks to the kindness of Prof. Aoyama. She is enjoying her life in Kurashiki too. We have made a lot of friends but she has (as usual) some complaints: Kurashiki city lacks many facilities (mainly huge shopping centers!!!) that are available in the big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka or Hiroshima. Another reason is that we are tall, and both of us are struggling to find suitable clothes: at least 3L size!

Despite the intensive Japanese language course I took in Okayama University, my Japanese level is still insufficient, indeed. I thought my self able to learn Japanese faster than this…But I like the Japanese people who encourage me by saying “Nihongo Jouzu desune”, even though I may be saying nothing but “Sumimasen” or “Konnichiwa”!

Finally I would like to thank Prof. Aoyama for accepting me in his Lab and Dr. Levonas, a visiting professor from Lithuania, who helped me a lot to set up and start my research project. It is also a pleasure to thank the enthusiastic and young assistant professor Dr. Izumi Mori and all my colleagues. My wife and I are expecting a new family member this October. He is 100% made in Japan!

(May 2005).

Congratulation! Mr. and Mrs. Hamdi

Research Activities at RIB

Congratulations on Awards

2004

Professor K. Takeda: Japan Prize of Agricultural Science. 2004

Associate Professor M. Sugimoto: Young Scientist Award of Chu-shikoku Branch of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology and Agrochemistry. September, 2004

2005

Emeritus Professor H. Matsumoto: Japan Prize of Agricultural Science. 2005

Professor J. F. Ma: Japan Academy Medal. 2005
" Studies on Tolerance Mechamisms of Mineral Stresses in Higher Plants"

Professor J. F. Ma: JSPS Prize. 2005
" Studies on Tolerance Mechamisms of Mineral Stresses in Higher Plants"

Symposia Held

20^th RIB symposium “International Symposium on Frontier Research to Improve Crop Productivity in Acid Soils”

This symposium was held on January 9, 2004 at the conference hall in Kurashiki City Museum. Five scientists from abroad, Dr. G.J. Taylor (Univ. of Alberta, Canada), Dr. S.J. Zheng (Zhejiang Univ., China), Dr. E. Delhaize (CSIRO, Australia), Dr. G.C. Chung (Chonnam National Univ., Korea) and Dr. I.M. Rao (CIAT, Colombia) were invited as speakers. In addition, four Japanese, Dr. H. Matsumoto (RIB), Dr. H. Sakugawa (Hiroshima Univ.), Dr. M. Saigusa (Tohoku Univ.) and Dr. K. Sakurai (Kochi Univ.) were also invited. They presented their recent topics on basic and applicable work, and then held a discussion with the other participants. This symposium was supported financially by the Ohara Foundation for Agricultural Sciences.

International Symposium in Kurashiki. “Al Stress Research in Plants; Present Status and New Directions for Future”

The symposium was held by Prof. H. Matsumoto (RIB) on August 7, 2004 at the RIB conference room. This coincides with a satellite symposium of 6th International Symposium on Plant-Soil Interactions at Low pH (Aug. 1-5, 2004 at Sendai, Japan). Many “Aluminum researchers” joined in this symposium to congratulate Prof. Matsumoto on the occasion of his retirement. The speakers are listed here; V.C. Baligar (USDA-ARS-Beltsville Agricultural Res. Center), P. Blamey (The Univ. of Queensland), N.K. Fageria (Alternate Crops & Systems Lab.), W.J. Horst (Institute for Plant Nutrition, Univ. of Hannover), T.B. Kinraide (Appalachian Farming Systems Res. Center, Agricultural Res. Service, USDA), L.V. Kochian, O.A. Hoekenga, M.A. Piñeros (USDA-ARS, Cornell Univ.), H. Koyama (Gifu Univ.), X.F. Li (Guangxi Univ.), J.F. Ma (Kagawa Univ.), S.K. Panda (RIB, Okayama Univ.), I.M. Rao (CIAT-International Center for Tropical Agriculture), Z.R. (Univ. of Western Australia), P.R. Ryan (CSIRO Plant Industry), T. Sasaki (RIB), M. Sivaguru (Univ. of Missouri), G.J. Taylor (Univ. of Alberta), T. Wagatsuma (Yamagata Univ.), P. Wenzl (DArT P/L). This symposium contributed to the sharing of knowledge and making strategies for the future direction in aluminum stress research in plants. This symposium was supported financially by the Ohara Foundation for Agricultural Sciences, Okayama Foundation for Science and Technology, and the Grant from Suntory Institute for Bioorganic Research.

Welcome and Farewell

Welcome

Farewell

About our foundation

The Ohara Foundation for Agricultural Science chaired by Mr. Ken-ichiro Ohara acts support our institute financially and contributes to the advancement of agricultural science. The activity of the foundation is to assist our research projects, sponsor our symposium and publications including this newsletter, and support mutual research exchange programs abroad. We are grateful to it.



Photograph taken from our field.