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Plant Breeding Lab
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The lab uses rice as its model material to explore crop breeding and domestication starting from genes.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring rice growth and morphogenesis through the genome
The Plant Breeding Lab studies the biology of crop breeding, using rice, the staple food of Japan, as its main material.
Every crop has been developed by humans continually selecting easy-to-grow, tasty lines from among wild-growing plants.
The early stage of this process is called "domestication," and the improvement that follows is called "breeding."
Using methods from molecular genetics and genomics, the lab investigates topics such as how flowering time and rice plant form are determined.
Key terms
- Domestication
- The process by which wild plants are transformed, through human selection, into crops suited to cultivation
- Short-day plant
- A plant that flowers when the length of the day becomes shorter. Rice is one of these plants
- Gene expression
- The production of RNA and proteins based on the information in genes. It indicates which genes are active and how strongly
NewsLab news
Guidance session held for the department's graduate school entrance exam (Schedule B) (10/17)
Study on the superhydrophobicity of rice leaves published in Plant Physiology
Review article on leaf water repellency published in Journal of Experimental Botany
Joint study with NARO on Ghd7, a gene that suppresses flowering, published in PNAS
Study on rice flowering and florigen published in Theoretical and Applied Genetics
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the biology of crop breeding, using rice as its main research material and applying molecular genetic and genomic approaches. Its themes include the control of flowering time, the origin of rice, the true nature of rice growing in the field, and how rice plant form is determined.
*Illustrative imageThe mechanism that determines flowering time
The lab investigates the control of flowering time, which strongly affects yield and quality, at the gene level using rice, a short-day plant. Rice precisely senses slight changes in day length and uses them to decide whether or not to flower.
*Illustrative imageWhere did rice come from?
The lab aims to clarify how the genome and genes changed through domestication, and how rice became a major crop cultivated throughout Asia, by studying changes in the genes that determine seed shattering and seed color.
*Illustrative imageThe "true nature" of rice growing in the field
To see what cannot be seen in the laboratory, the lab is developing analytical methods that comprehensively measure gene expression in samples of rice grown in natural environments. This theme is recommended for anyone who wants hands-on experience with statistical modeling and big data analysis.
*Illustrative imageThe mechanism that determines rice plant form
The shape of leaves, panicles, and grains can change because of a change in just a single gene. The lab is identifying a variety of genes involved in rice plant form in order to understand how form is genetically controlled.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Plant Breeding Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral and master's students, and technical staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakeshi IzawaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorJun-Ichi ItohPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorManaki MimuraPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Fukuoka-Tsuzura Rice Terrace in an Early Summer-xl” うきは
市 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - The mechanism that determines flowering time: “Oryza sativa - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-232” Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen / Public domain (cropped)
- Where did rice come from?: “Oryza rufipogon - National Taiwan University - DSC01108” Daderot / CC0 (cropped)
- The "true nature" of rice growing in the field: “Oryza sativa L” Syariful Msth / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- The mechanism that determines rice plant form: “Oryza sativa MHNT.BOT.” Roger Culos / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (昆虫遺伝研究室): “Bombyx mori 4520” Amada44 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生産生態学研究室／フィールドインフォマティクス（大森研）
): “Rice Japonica Koshihikari” Siriusplot / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (植物資源ゲノミクス研究室): “Mahangu (pearl millet) field flourishing in the perfect climate in the rural north of Namibia” Shikoha Tautiko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生物測定学研究室): “Technology Contributing to Agriculture” Ahman10 / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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