Japanese Top>Publication>NIAS news>No. 52
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Discovery of eco-friendly insect pest management strategies
Two major research outputs may lead to the development of strategies for controlling insect pests without any adverse effects on humans and the environment.
The group of Hiroe Yasui of the Insect Interactions Research Unit Research Unit, Division of Insect Sciences in collaboration with the Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Center has successfully disrupted the mating behavior of white grub beetle, a major insect pest of sugar cane, with the application of synthetic sex pheromone in the field. The sex pheromone released in the field using polyethylene-tube dispensers reduced the larval density in succeeding generation of white grub beetle thereby providing an effective and environment friendly method of preventing extensive damage in infestation caused by the insect pest.
In another study, the group of Toshimasa Yamazaki of the Biomolecular Research Unit, Agrogenomics Research Center has identified a new protein that plays a crucial role in chemical communication and exchange of information among worker ants. As this protein specifically functions on ants, this discovery is expected to provide a potential target for the development of safe and environmentally friendly agricultural pesticides against harmful and invasive ants.
Prof. Martin Kropff, the Rector Magnificus and Vice President of Visit Wageningen University, and member of the Research Center of the Netherlands visited the NIAS on January 22, 2014. Prof. Kropff was given an overview of various researches and a tour of the data storage facilities of the institute and seed storage facilities of the NIAS Genebank.
The Japanese Society for Virology awarded the Outstanding Poster Award to Etsuko Katoh of the Biomolecular Research Unit, Agrogenomics Research Center on November 11, 2013 for the poster entitled “Recognition mechanism of Tomato mosaic virus and the resistance gene Tm-1” co-authored with Kazuhiro Ishibashi (Plant Microbe Interaction Research Unit), Masayuki Ishikawa (head of Plant Microbe Interaction Research Unit) and Chihoko Kobayashi (Biomolecular Research Unit).
The awards for outstanding presentations were given by the Japanese Society of Breeding to Mai Tsuda (Soybean Applied Genomics Research Unit) for the poster presentation entitled “Genome wide association analysis of flowering of soybean mini core collection”, Yu Takahashi (Biodiversity Research Unit) for the oral presentation entitled “Neo-domestication of Vigna wild species”, and Hiroaki Sakai (Bioinformatics Research Unit) for the poster presentation entitled “Vigna Genome Project”. The awards were given in conjunction with the 124th meeting of the Japanese Society of Breeding held in Kagoshima University on October 11-14, 2013.
Plant Science Symposium 2013
With the theme focusing on the development of sustainable resources, the Plant Science Symposium was held at the Kokuyo Hall in Shinagawa, Tokyo on December 4, 2013. This symposium was jointly sponsored by NIAS, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology (AIST), and the network of university researchers in plant science. Among the speakers from several universities and research institutes, Yusaku Uga (Rice Applied Genomics Research Unit), Takeshi Izawa (Functional Plant Research Unit) and Seichi Toki (Plant Genome Engineering Research Unit) presented their most recent studies on various areas of plant research.
NIAS Symposium on the Future of Silkworm Production
The 6th in the series of NIAS symposium on silkworm research was held at the Akihabara Convention Hall on January 30, 2014 under the theme “Development of animal based pharmaceuticals”. This annual symposium is aimed at enhancing the utilization and application of the transgenic silkworm technology developed by NIAS. Ken-ichiro Tatematsu (Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit) gave a presentation on the utilization of transgenic silkworm for large-scale regulation of cytokine.
NIAS Open College
A series of lectures designed for the non-scientific including ordinary laymen, students and people in the press is organized by NIAS annually in collaboration with the NGO “Free Market of • by • for Wisdom” and Waseda University Integrated Institute for Regulatory Science. For FY2013, the NIAS Open College was held for 15 consecutive weeks from September 5 to December 12, 2013 at the Shufu Kaikan in Yotsuya, Tokyo. The lectures focused mainly on the three major aspects of research such as agrogenomics, genetically modified organisms, and genetic resources.
SAT Technology Showcase 2014
The SAT Technology Showcase consisting of mini-symposiums‚ special lectures‚ poster presentations‚ indexing presentations‚ and research exhibitions was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center on January 24‚ 2014. This event was sponsored by the Science Academy of Tsukuba, various research organizations, the city and prefectural governments‚ and the University of Tsukuba. The major objective of this event is foster intellectual exchanges among researchers from national institutes‚ companies‚ and the government that will serve as the impetus for new research initiatives and opportunities towards the creation of innovative industries. This year, NIAS presented 5 posters featuring various research outputs and participated in the ‘World’s Top Poster’ section featuring some of the research achievements that have made significant impact in global science.
Science Q
The NIAS participated in the ScienceQ radio program sponsored by the Tsukuba Science City Network with a talk on rice varietal improvement by Toshio Yamamoto, head of the Rice Applied Genomics Research Unit. The broadcast was held at the Yaita Elementary School in Tsukubamirai City with the participation of grade 5 pupils.
Science Café
The TTC Biocafe was held in collaboration with Tokyo Technical College on February 7, 2014 at the TTC Campus in Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Hideki Sezutsu, head of the Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit presented a talk on innovative utilization of silkworm.
Silk Summit 2014 in Tomioka Silk Mill
When: April 17-18, 2014
Where: Tomioka 1-1, Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture
Contact: 0274 (64) 0005
Activities: exhibits, demonstrations, special lectures, guided tours and a lot more!
NIAS Open House 2014
When: April 18-19, 2014
Where: Kannondai 2-1-2, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Owashi 1-2, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Contact: 029 (838) 8469 (Public Relations Office)
Activities: exhibits, demonstrations, science crafts, stamp rally and a lot more!
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