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Naito Lab
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The lab uses genomics to uncover how wild seaside plants are able to tolerate salt.
AboutAbout the lab
Aiming for crops that grow in seawater.
The lab studies how wild plants growing along the seashore became tolerant of salt damage.
Agriculture uses far more fresh water than the amount supplied by rainfall, so salt-tolerant crops are essential for developing crops that can be grown with seawater.
The lab is located in the Genetic Resources Center at NARO (National Agriculture and Food Research Organization), where it also sequences the genomes of conserved crops and investigates the origins of crop cultivation.
Key terms
- Salt tolerance
- The ability to keep growing, without dying, in soil or water with a high salt content
- Whole genome
- The entire set of genetic information (DNA sequence) that an organism has
- Population genomic analysis
- A method that compares the genomes of many individuals of the same species to study how a population is structured and the history of how it spread
NewsLab news
Visiting Professor Naito's book "The Origin of Azuki" wins the 42nd Kodansha Science Publishing Award
A group from NARO and National Taiwan University shows that azuki bean domestication began in Japan (published in Science)
A group from NARO, QST, the University of Tsukuba, and the University of Tokyo clarifies the mechanism of salt tolerance in the beach cowpea (Vigna marina)
ResearchResearch themes
Seaside plants have become so salt-tolerant that they can grow even while sometimes being splashed by seawater. The lab aims to clarify how this salt tolerance evolved and to apply that knowledge to developing crops that can be grown with seawater.
*Illustrative imageComparative genomic analysis of salt-tolerant wild plants
Among wild relatives of the azuki bean, there are populations adapted to the coast, as well as populations that adapted to the coast, then moved back inland and lost their salt tolerance. By comparing the whole genomes and gene activity of closely related populations whose salt tolerance differs greatly, the lab searches for the genetic factors that determine salt tolerance.
*Illustrative imageWhole-genome sequencing of genetic resources
The Genetic Resources Center, where the lab is located, conserves a large number of crop seeds, potatoes, and other materials. Using genome sequencers, the lab is working to determine the genomes of as many of the conserved accessions as possible.
*Illustrative imageTracing the origins of azuki bean cultivation
Azuki bean cultivation may have begun in Japan during the Jomon period and then spread to the Korean Peninsula and China. To test this idea, the lab is carrying out population genomic analyses of the azuki bean and its wild ancestor, the wild azuki bean (Vigna angularis var. nipponensis).
MembersFaculty
- Visiting ProfessorKen Naito
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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: “Starr Vigna marina” Forest & Kim Starr / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Comparative genomic analysis of salt-tolerant wild plants: “Starr Vigna marina” Forest & Kim Starr / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Whole-genome sequencing of genetic resources: “DNA Double Helix by NHGRI” National Human Genome Research Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Tracing the origins of azuki bean cultivation: “Vigna angularis var. nipponensis 10” Qwert1234 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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