Announcement:
Signaling Pathway Research Unit has been changed to Stress Adaptation Research Unit since 2018 April.Research Outline
Hormonal regulatory network in plant adaptation to abiotic stress and translational genomics of crops for improved productivity
The population of the earth is rapidly increasing, setting food security one of the major issues in the world, especially in developing countries. Additionally, climate changes also put a great burden on food production. Environmental stresses, such as drought, high salinity, soil erosion and pollutants are factors affecting yield and stability of crop production, thereby threatening sustainable agriculture. Our unit has interest in (i) studying the roles of plant growth regulators and their interactions in abiotic stress responses, as well as (ii) translational genomics aiming to enhance crop productivity under adverse environmental stress conditions.
Contents of Research
- Molecular elucidation of signaling molecules in plant responses to drought, salt and heavy metal stresses.
- Mechanisms controlling nitrogen fixation in legumes under drought and phosphorus deficiency.
- Functional genomics of food crops for improvement of crop productivity in adverse conditions.
Results of Research
- We provided evidence that repression of cytokinin signaling through down-regulation of type-B response regulators is one of the strategies plants use to cope with drought.
- We provided an insight into H2S-induced protective mechanisms of rice exposed to cadmium stress.
- We discussed new research potential to understand the roles of strigolactones and karrikins in plant adaptation to abiotic stresses.
