Our clothing, food, and shelter all depend on plants, and plants are indispensable for maintaining the environment. The reason plants cover a large portion of the Earth is that they can grow as long as they receive water, light, and fourteen essential inorganic nutrients from the soil. However, many soils do not contain sufficient amounts of some of these nutrients, which prevents plants from achieving full growth. Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has supplied nutrients to soils in order to promote plant growth and secure food and other resources. In modern times, providing nutrients in the form of fertilizers has become essential to sustain food production for the global population, but at the same time, fertilization places a burden on the Earth. Thus, it is increasingly important to improve the efficiency of nutrient uptake in plants, enabling them to grow with reduced fertilizer input.
One way to achieve this is to identify the proteins responsible for nutrient uptake in plants and enhance their capacity. For the essential inorganic nutrients boron and molybdenum, our laboratory was the first in the world to identify the uptake proteins in plants. Furthermore, by enhancing their capacity, we have developed technologies to generate plants that can grow with fewer nutrients.
Through these studies, we are uncovering the remarkable mechanisms by which plants skillfully absorb and regulate nutrients, and we continue our research to achieve further discoveries and technological innovations.
Educational approach
Plant nutrition research is fascinating and useful
Plants possess distinct transport systems for each of the fourteen essential inorganic nutrients, and these systems are finely regulated depending on nutrient conditions. We have been working to elucidate these sophisticated mechanisms. Recently, we discovered a phenomenon in which plants alter the growth direction of their roots toward areas of higher nutrient availability in the soil. We named this phenomenon nutritropism. While the bending of plants in response to light and water was described by Darwin in the 19th century, the bending in response to nutrients had not been known before.
In my lectures and practical classes, I introduce the relationship between plant nutrient uptake and human society, as well as the underlying sophisticated mechanisms, incorporating the latest research topics. Nutrient uptake in plants is not only essential for agricultural production but also plays a major role in global biogeochemical cycles. Moreover, because plants sometimes mistakenly absorb toxic substances as if they were nutrients, these toxins can be transmitted through plants to animals, including humans, with harmful effects. Through classes and laboratory activities, I hope students will come to understand and experience the fascination of plant nutrient uptake and its broad social impact. Career paths for graduates vary widely, but many who complete their doctoral degrees go on to positions as university faculty members or as researchers in public and private institutions. The titles of doctoral theses can be found on our laboratory website.
Vision for industry-academia collaboration
Contributing Plant Nutrition Research to Society
We aim to address a wide range of issues related to plant nutrition and fertilizers. Examples of our efforts include developing of crop varieties that achieve sufficient yields with reduced fertilizer inputs, developing of breeding crops that enhance the activity of soil microorganisms, analyzing plant nutritional status through imaging techniques, promoting efficient biomass production, and preventing nutrient deficiencies or promoting growth through fertilization and cultivation management.
