Nonomura Group • Plant Cytogenetics Laboratory::National Institute of Genetics

Nonomura Group • Plant Cytogenetics Laboratory

Molecular cytogenetics in regulatory mechanisms of plant reproductive development

Faculty

NONOMURA, Ken-ichi

Associate Professor

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TSUDA, Katsutoshi

Assistant Professor

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Research Summary

Meiosis is a special cell division that halves the chromosome number for fertilization and stably transmits genetic information to offspring. It also creates genetic diversity through meiotic recombination, which is utilized for the crossbreeding of animals and plants. We aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that control plant reproductive development including meiosis.

Furthermore, we support plant researches through preservation, provision, and contract cultivation of Gramineae genetic resources, including wild rice relatives and experimental cultivated rice strains, in use of the plant cultivation facilities in NIG.

Fig. Plant stem is important for reproductive success because it lifts flowers for pollen and seed dispersal. However, stem development has been elusive. We conducted clonal analysis in rice to understand when each part of the stem is initiated and revealed that the internode is the last domain whose cell fate is established among surrounding organs (Selected publication 1).

Selected Publications

Tsuda K, Maeno A, Nonomura KI. Heat shock-inducible clonal analysis reveals the stepwise establishment of cell fate in the rice stem. Plant Cell. 2023 Nov 30;35(12):4366-4382.

Somashekar H, Mimura M, Tsuda K, Nonomura KI. Rice GLUCAN SYNTHASE-LIKE5 promotes anther callose deposition to maintain meiosis initiation and progression. Plant Physiol. 2023 Jan 2;191(1):400-413.

Tsuda K, Suzuki T, Mimura M, Nonomura KI. Comparison of constitutive promoter activities and development of maize ubiquitin promoter- and Gateway-based binary vectors for rice. Plant Biotechnol (Tokyo). 2022 Jun 25;39(2):139-146.

Ono S, Liu H, Tsuda K, Fukai E, Tanaka K, Sasaki T, Nonomura KI. EAT1 transcription factor, a non-cell-autonomous regulator of pollen production, activates meiotic small RNA biogenesis in rice anther tapetum. PLoS Genet. 2018 Feb 12;14(2):e1007238.