Shin-ichiro KIDOU

	Shin-ichiro KIDOU Professor, Ph.D.
	E-mail: kidou TEL: +81-52-872-5865 FAX: +81-52-872-5865 Research Course: Biological Science
	URL　http://www.nsc.nagoya-cu.ac.jp/~kidou/
Specialties	Plant physiology, Molecular Biology
Keywords	(1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan, Vernalization, Environmental adaptation of plants
Current Research	(1) Functional analysis of a barley protein P23k in (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan synthesis: P23k is a monocot-unique protein that is highly expressed in barley. Loss-of-function studies in barley leaves indicated that P23k might contribute to secondary wall formation in the leaf. In addition, we observed a marked decrease in the amount of cell wall polysaccharides and down-regulation of cellulose synthase-like CslF6 gene in P23k silenced barley. These results suggest that P23k is possibly involved in the (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan synthesis. We are interested in the role of P23k in the (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan synthesis of barley. (2) Gene expression profiling in the shoot apex of vernalized barley: The basic molecular mechanism of vernalization has been clarified with the identification of some vernalization-related genes. However, we speculate that many as-yet-unidentified genes are acting in regulating the vernalization mechanism. To identify these genes, we performed transcription profiling of genes between vernalized and un-vernalized barley. Recently we have isolated a novel candidate gene by a PCR-based HiCEP method. It may provide novel insight in understanding the vernalization mechanism of barley.
Selected Papers	FRIGIDA delays flowering in Arabidopsis via a co-transcriptional mechanism involving direct interaction with the nuclear cap binding complex, Plant Physiology, Vol.150, pp.1611-1618 (2009). Rice shoot branching requires an ATP-binding cassette subfamily G protein, New Phytologist, Vol.182, pp.91-101 (2009). Constitutive expression of two apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) homolog genes of LIKE HTEROCHROMATINE PROTEIN1 affects flowering time and whole-plant growth in transgenic Arabidopsis, Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Vol.273, pp.295-305 (2008). Virus-induced gene silencing of P23k in barley leaf reveals morphological changes involved in secondary wall formation, Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.58, pp.2617-2625 (2007).