K. Oikawa

Impact of rice GENERAL REGULATORY FACTOR14h (GF14h) on low-temperature seed germination and its application to breeding

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.

Production of Infectious Reporter Murine Norovirus by VP2 trans-Complementation

This study shows that infectious murine norovirus can be produced by supplying exogenous VP2 when ORF3 is replaced with foreign genes.

Disentangling the complex gene interaction networks between rice and the blast fungus identifies a new pathogen effector

Whole genome sequencing of a wild yam species Dioscorea tokoro reveals a genomic region associated with sex

The paper reports the whole genome sequence of Dioscorea tokoro and identifies a genomic region associated with sex determination.

A genetically linked pair of NLR immune receptors show contrasting patterns of evolution

This paper studies the evolution of a rice NLR gene pair, showing that the sensor NLR undergoes dynamic domain integration under balancing selection, while the helper NLR remains functionally conserved under purifying selection.

The blast pathogen effector AVR-Pik binds and stabilizes rice heavy metal-associated (HMA) proteins to co-opt their function in immunity

This study shows that the fungal effector AVR-Pik binds and stabilizes rice HMA proteins, co-opting their function to suppress immunity, while also triggering immunity in plants with integrated HMA domains in NLRs.

Genome analyses reveal the hybrid origin of the staple food crop white Guinea yam

This study reveals the hybrid origin of white Guinea yam through genomic analysis, showing it arose from crosses between D. praehensilis and D. abyssinica with significant introgression around the SWEETIE gene.

Dynamic rotation of the protruding domain enhances the infectivity of norovirus

This study shows that the protruding domain of norovirus capsids dynamically rotates between rising and resting conformations in response to pH and metal ions, enhancing infection efficiency.

Native protein delivery into rice callus using ionic complexes of protein and cell-penetrating peptides

This study delivers a fluorescent protein into rice callus using ionic complexes of cell-penetrating peptides and shows varying efficiency across callus growth stages.