Motoki Shimizu

This study shows that the rice RALF peptide OsRALF7 is hijacked by the rice blast fungus to trigger appressorium formation, aiding infection, while retaining antifungal activity against other fungi.

The paper identifies the sex chromosome in white Guinea yam and describes a miRNA-mediated sex determination system involving a 1.2-Mb inversion and a W-specific microRNA gene.

This study manipulates gene copy number in rice to fine-tune agronomic traits, showing that increasing OsMADS18 copies leads to longer leaf and culm lengths.

The paper identifies HMA-integrated tandem kinase genes in barley and wheat that confer resistance to fungal pathogens and proposes an evolutionary model for their diversification.

The paper presents a genomic breeding strategy using large-scale recombinant populations and prediction models to rapidly develop rice cultivars with desired traits.

This study shows that loss of DDM1 reduces biomass heterosis in Arabidopsis hybrids by disrupting DNA methylation and transcriptome stability, revealing a salicylic acid-independent epigenetic mechanism.

The paper shows that GBP and thaumatin-domain proteins engage in coevolutionary dynamics in rice apoplast to defend against Magnaporthe oryzae.

The paper identifies two candidate genes involved in sex determination in the dioecious wild yam Dioscorea tokoro using whole-genome sequencing and genetic analysis.

The paper identifies STT3A as a gene required for recognizing pathogen-derived sphingolipids in Arabidopsis, showing its role in plant immunity through post-translational modifications.

This paper identifies GF14h as the causal gene for low-temperature seed germination in rice and demonstrates its utility in breeding for direct seeding in cold climates.

RIL-StEp identifies epistatic gene interactions in rice seed hull color using SNP data from recombinant inbred lines.

The paper identifies two NBS-LRR genes, Pii-1 and Pii-2, that together confer resistance to rice blast disease in rice.