Discovery of a gene associated with length and weight of rice grain
～A useful gene found only in limited genotypes could lead to further yield improvement of rice～

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Identification of transcriptional activators in legumes that enables nitrogen use in the atmosphere
～Paving the way for cultivation of crops such as soybean with less fertilizer～

The function of a nodulation-specific protein NIN that allows leguminous plants to utilize nitrogen in the atmosphere was clarified. NIN was found to act as transcriptional activator that directly targets two nuclear factor subunit genes and is a crucial factor responsible for initiating nodulation-specific symbiotic processes. Controlling the expression of the gene in soybean and other crops could therefore facilitate cultivation under relatively poor nutrient conditions and could lead to an agricultural system with low adverse impact on the environment.

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Elucidating the genetic linkage map of brown planthopper
～The first genetic map for a major insect pest is expected to accelerate the identification of genes that cause extensive damage to rice～

The genetic linkage map of brown planthopper, a major insect pest of rice, has been elucidated. As the first genetic map for an insect pest that can cause extensive damage during rice cultivation, the results described in this study will provide the basis for understanding the genes related to the virulence of brown planthopper and other related species, and accelerate the identification of resistance genes against insect pests among rice cultivars. Furthermore, this study may also lead to the development of insecticides for effective control of various insect pests, and the breeding of rice cultivars with durable resistance to brown planthopper and other insect pests.

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A new strategy for developing new types of crops with resistance to several pathogens
～Overcoming the ‘family’ barrier by transformation with 2 disease resistance-genes～

A collaborative research on transformation strategy that involves two disease resistance-genes has successfully induced resistance of crops against multiple pathogenic organisms. The genes derived from Arabidopsis have been successfully introduced in plants from various family classifications such as tomato, tobacco, komatsuna, rapeseed, and cucumber to induce resistance against pathogens that caused bacterial wilt, bacterial speck and anthracnose fungal disease. This is the first report of its kind and is expected to contribute in providing an effective and environmentally safer method of disease control in a wide variety of crops.

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Discovery of a method to suppress the composition of the black pigment in insects
～Screening of transgenic insects with markers visible to the naked eye～

The formation of the black melanin pigment on the body surface of insects such as silkworm, fruit fly and ladybug was successfully suppressed using the silkworm gene that encodes for arylalkylamine-N-acetyl transferase. This gene can be used as marker during genetic transformation because its expression is easily visible to the naked eye and would therefore facilitate the efficient screening of transgenic insects at larval as well as adult stages. It is highly expected that this study will further accelerate research on insect developmental biology, genetic functional analysis, and production of useful materials.

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A system for predicting the expression of all rice genes based on atmospheric data
～Predicting the changes in gene expression during cultivation for accurate assessment of plant growth in the field～

A system which could estimate the transcriptional response of rice grown in the field has been developed. The atmospheric data such as climate and temperature in the field, and developmental stage of the rice plant were used as variables in creating a model that could accurately associate the changes in the expression of the genes with various environmental conditions. This modeling system could therefore be used to predict the expression of genes such as those related to high temperature based on previously obtained atmospheric data.

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