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![]() Retirement Party of Hirokazu Kobayashi (Notice) The principal investigator of this laboratory, Hirokazu Kobayashi, started managing the Laboratory of Plant Improvement, formerly, the Laboratory of Plant Cell Technology, in 1991, after his career as Assistant Professor at Radioisope Research Center, Nagoya University. Afterwards, he accomplished his research and worked for the development of graduate schools and university as Professor, Dean, and Vice-President during these 29 years. He will retire from this university in March, 2020. His Retirement Memorial Party is scheduled as below. His last lecture organized by the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences was done on February 17 (Monday) in 2020 in Japanese with the talk title “Amazing plants! Young people, go out into the world!” (its video available). He established the Green Insight Japan, Inc. (University-Based Company) in August, 2020, to commercialize his patents and experience such as “Japanology.” Date: Saturday April 25, 2020 12:00 PM → Postponed in consideration of the spread of coronavirus Place: Fugetsuro (downtown in Shizuoka City) Organizers: Keiichi Goto, Masanori Shimizu, and Shingo Goto Contact: Shingo Goto Invitation letter: Click here ![]() Registration: Click here ![]() Prizes The proposal entitled "Production of biologics with lower costs by chloroplast engineering with Light-Switch to express foreign genes specifically” received “Yamaha Motor Corp. Prize” at “Grand Prix of First Shizuoka Tech Planter” sponsored by Leave a Nest, Inc., on July 7, 2018, in Hamamatsu. Another proposal, “Does Light-Switch serve mankind for sustainable society?” was nominated as one of finalists in “Agri Grand Prix 2018,” September 15, 2018, in Tokyo. These proposals were based on the discovery of the Light-Switch as published in PNAS in 2010. This technology was patented as “Constructs for Light-Switch to express objective genes,” the Japanese patent 6385644. Scope of This Laboratory The new graduate school, Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, was established in 2012 by integration of the former schools, Graduate School of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. This re-organization was a goal of our COE Programs by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in the Japanese Government starting from 2002 and supported with approx. two billion Japanese yen, being equivalent to 25 million US dollars. Hirokazu Kobayashi who organizes this laboratory, as the dean of graduate school (2006-2011, 2013-2015, 2017-2019) and a vice-presient of this university (2015-2017), contributed to these programs through the promotion of research and educational activities in these graduate schools and scientifically through the molecular improvement of plants to enrich them with nutraceutical and pharmaceutical compounds with all plant-derived DNA sequences for oral intake of humans, as well as to enhance chloroplast functions and tolerance to salt and drought on the basis of scientific interest. Objectives In basic scientific aspects, we are focusing on the underlying mechanisms of the buildup of functional chloroplasts and the maintenance of homeostasis in response to environmental changes or stresses using the model plant, Arabidopsis. In this output, we will improve photosynthetic and metabolic activities necessary for food and substance supply, for absorption of CO2 causing global green-house effect, and for alternative energy production (in non-crops which do not compete against food supply). In the sense of application, we are developing methodology to genetically engineer plants with all plant-derived DNA sequences for a selectable marker and driving expression of objective genes through nuclear and chloroplast transformation. The latter is also beneficial for avoiding the scatter of transgenic genes via pollen. we are applying this methodology to the enrichment of vegetables such as lettuce with polyphenols and biofortification of tea. Topics
Research Subjects
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Key Words: plant molecular improvement, Arabidopsis thaliana, tea, Camellia sinensis, chloroplast, photosynthesis, salt tolerance, environment preservation, functional food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, genetic engineering, genetic manipulation, genetically-modified (GM), selectable marker, light-switch, biologics, bio-similars, graduate school, University of Shizuoka |