Ion Beam Breeding Group

Research Areas

The Ion Beam Breeding Group is developing tailor-made breeding techniques by adjusting the species, speed, and number of heavy ions to match the gene size to be mutated while maintaining a high mutation rate for each material. We also analyze the causal genes and new gene functions of selected mutants in model plants. We organize breeding user groups with universities, research institutes, and companies bringing 39 varieties to market and analyzing new gene functions in various plants. By creating new varieties and analyzing novel gene functions, we contribute to solving problems related to food, health, the environment, and energy.

List of Selected Publications

1. Y. Kazama, M. Kitoh, T. Kobayashi, K. Ishii, M. Krasovec, Y. Yasui, T. Abe, S. Kawano, D. A. Filatov.:
   “A CLAVATA3-like Gene Acts as a Gynoecium Suppression Function in White Campion”
   Mol. Biol. Evol. 39(10):msac195 (2022).
2. H. Park, Y. Narasako, T. Abe, H. Kunitake, T. Hirano
   “Comprehensive effects of heavy-ion beam irradiation on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.)”
   Plant Biotechnol (Tokyo) 39, 311–316 (2022).
3. R. Morita, H. Ichida, Y. Hayashi, K. Ishii, Y. Shirakawa, S. Usuda-Kogure, K. Ichinose, M. Hatashita, K. Takagi, K. Miura, M. Kusajima, H. Nakashita, T. Endo, Y. Tojo, Y. Okumoto, T. Sato, K. Toriyama, T. Abe
   “Responsible gene analysis of phenotypic mutants revealed the linear energy transfer (LET)-dependent mutation spectrum in rice”
   Cytologia 84(4), 303-309 (2021)
4. Sato Y., Hirano T., Hayashi Y., Fukunishi N., Abe T., Kawano S.:
   “Screening for high-growth mutants in sporophytes of Undaria pinnatifida using heavy-ion beam irradiation”
   Cytologia 86, 291-295 (2021)
5. Abe T., Ichida H. Hayashi Y., Morita R., Shirakawa Y., Ishii K., Sato T., Saito H., Okumoto Y.:
   “Ion beam mutagenesis - an innovative and effective method for plant breeding and gene discovery”
   Mutation Breeding, Genetic Diversity and Crop Adaptation to Climate Change, pp 411-423 (2021).
6. Tsuneizumi K., Yamada M., H-J Kim, Ichida H., Ichinose K., Sakakura Y., Suga K., Hagiwara A., Kawata M., Katayama T., Tezuka N., Kobayashi T., Koiso M., Abe T.
   Application of heavy-ion-beam irradiation to breeding large rotifer
   Biosci. Biotech., and Biochem. 85, 703-713 (2021)
7. Hirano T., Sato Y., Ichinose K., Yamada M., Hayashi Y., Fukunishi N., Abe T.
   Mutant induction in gametophytes of Undaria pinnatifida (Phaeophyceae) by heavy ion beam irradiation
   Phycol. Res. 68, 63-69 （2019）
8. Morita R., Ichida H., Ishii K. Hayashi R., Abe H., Shirakawa Y., Ichinose K., Tsuneizumi K., Kazama T. Toriyama K., Sato T., Abe T.
   LONG GRAIN 1: a novel gene that regulates grain length in rice
   Mol. Breed. 39 135-142 (2019)
9. Ichida H., Morita R., Shirakawa Y., Hayashi Y., Abe T.
   Targeted exome sequencing of unselected heavy-ion beam-irradiated populations reveals less-biased mutation characteristics in the rice genome
   Plant J, 98, 301-314 (2019)
10. Hayashi Y., Ishii S., Hirano T., Ichinose K., Kazama Y., Abe T.
    New ornamental cherry cultivars induced by heavy-ion beam irradiation
    Acta Hortic. 1235, 99-103 (2019)