Crop damage due to environmental stresses, including drought, high salinity, and high temperature, occurs worldwide. Therefore, genetically modifying plants to increase their environmental stress tolerance is an important global issue. In this paper, we discuss recent developments in basic and applied research aimed at genetically improving crop environmental stress tolerance. First, we review the progress made in understanding the environmental stress-tolerance mechanisms in plants, using Arabidopsis or rice as models. Then, we discuss our international collaboration to genetically modify crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane and soybean that entails greenhouse- or field-based drought-tolerance tests. Finally, we assess the future prospects for developing stress-tolerant varieties

We have developed an electrostatic pesticide spraying system for low-concentration, high-volume applications to reduce vegetable production costs through savings in agricultural chemical usage and working hours for pest control. The electrostatic spray charging device (ESCD) has an outer annular induction charging electrode around a hydraulic nozzle with a high flow rate. The charge-to-mass ratio of spray droplets was -0.30 to -0.45 mC/kg at +4 kV, using a hollow-cone nozzle with a high flow rate delivering 1.0 to 2.6 L/min. No discharge or electric leakage occurred from the electrode. Using this device, we developed two types of sprayers. One type was an electrostatic boom-type sprayer for cabbage vegetables. Field tests showed that this boom-type sprayer reduced the amount of required pesticide application by 30% as compared to the conventional method.
The other type was a spraying robot for greenhouse melons. There was no significant difference in the control of insect pests between robot spraying and the conventional manual spraying method. The effective field capacity of the robot was 3.8 a/h.

Gastric digestion is the major digestion process in humans and is strongly affected by both physical and chemical digestion. In vitro approaches using different gastric digestion models have received a great deal of attention in several scientific and industrial fields, including food science and technology, due to experiments being conducted under various conditions and with better reproducibility of the experiment data. The development of simple in vitro gastric digestion devices that enable quantitative consideration of the influence of gastric peristalsis has been necessary for simulating and analyzing the disintegration of solid foods in the stomach. The authors and co-workers recently developed a human gastric digestion simulator (GDS) that simplifies the antrum geometry, is capable of simulated gastric peristalsis, and which enables direct observation of the disintegration of food particles in the gastric contents. This article provides a brief overview of our findings regarding the GDS. First, the concept and development of the GDS is introduced. The disintegration characteristics of representative (model) foods using the GDS are described next, providing insights into the digestion processes influenced by gastric peristalsis. After further improvement, the GDS is expected to offer potential as a tool for designing novel nutraceutical and functional foods for which digestibility is well controlled.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of whole crop rice silage (WCRS) feeding on the lipid stability of beef and fat depot-specific adipokine gene expression patterns in Wagyu cattle. Wagyu steers were fed a control diet (CT, n=4) or a high-vitamin diet containing WCRS (HV, n=4) from 10 to 30 months of age. The α-tocopherol concentration of the longissimus muscle was significantly higher in the HV group than in the CT group. The percentage of metmyoglobin in the longissimus muscle was significantly lower in the HV group than in the CT group. The 2-Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance values of the longissimus muscle were also significantly lower in the HV group than in the CT group. The plasma 8-isoprostane concentration, which is a biomarker of oxidative stress, was significantly lower in the HV group than in the CT group. The expression of adipokine genes (VEGF, FGF-2, and leptin) in mesenteric adipose tissue was significantly lower in the HV group than in the CT group. These results suggest that feeding beef cattle on WCRS improves both the quality of meat and the oxidative stress status.

REDD+ is an approach to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, using economic incentives to influence behavior. The need for safeguards has emerged to avoid the negative social and environmental impacts caused by an overemphasis of such economic incentives. In the context of safeguards, in addition to the UNFCCC’s official efforts, voluntary activities (initiatives) by many organizations have attempted to formulate principles, criteria, indicators and guidelines. In this article, we clarified the elements to enhance social safeguards and discussed how those elements are included in each initiative. We reviewed the literature on the SEPC, SESA and REDD+ SES initiatives, and clarified the focal points and problems relating to social safeguards. We found that benefit-sharing is an important aspect of social safeguards, and that more discussions are needed to enhance initiatives. The REDD+ SES initiative has received little criticism in literature to date and has the best-covered elements including “benefit-sharing” among the three initiatives. If more countries adopt REDD+ SES and more cases can be accumulated to identify problems and solutions, it could become a popular initiative in the international community to enhance the social safeguards in REDD+.

We have developed a genetic marker that can identify a registered variety of mat rush in Japan. A vegetatively propagated plant, mat rush is cultivated and used as the material for the surface layer of tatami mats in Japan. Because it has been difficult to detect DNA polymorphism among mat rush cultivars, we applied restriction landmark genome scanning (RLGS) to discriminate mat rush cultivars. RLGS is a genome analysis technique that can detect many DNA polymorphisms as spots separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. By cloning the DNA of spots specific to the superior mat rush cultivar ‘Hinomidori’ detected by RLGS, we developed a sequence-tagged site (STS) marker for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses. This STS marker makes it possible to distinguish ‘Hinomidori’ specifically from other mat rush cultivars. The strategy of developing the STS marker in this study is applicable to other vegetatively propagated plants that are characterized by difficult DNA polymorphism detection.

Active transposition of the DNA transposon Ttf1 in the Torenia mutable line “Flecked” generates new mutants, including those with imperfect penetrance. However, when a gene responsible for a mutation is identified using the transposon display method, the high transposition activity of Ttf1 generates falsepositive bands, thus making identification difficult. In this study, we designed a transposon display method that uses the F₂ mutant-type population obtained from a cross between the mutant and another line harboring Ttf1 in a different genomic location. When this method was applied to the “Flecked” mutation, only the band containing TfMYB1, which is responsible for the mutation, was commonly detected in the mutant-type F₂ population, while the unspecific bands were segregated. Further, this method effectively identified the gene responsible for the “Petaloid” mutation, which displays imperfect penetrance. Thus, this method can be potentially used in various other crops to identify the mutations caused by highly active transposons, including those with imperfect penetrance.

Pepper vein yellows virus (PeVYV, Luteovirdae; Polerovirus) infects Capsicum plants, whose bell pepper fruits (Capsicum annuum) are important crops in Japan. Reductions in the yield and quality of bell pepper fruits caused by PeVYV are agricultural problems in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The prevalence of PeVYV deposits in the annual disposition of harvested bell pepper plants suggests the possible existence of a reservoir for the virus. Here, we examined bird pepper plants (Capsicum frutescens) that were grown wild on five islands in Okinawa Prefecture, as well as cultivated peppers (C. annuum, Capsicum baccatum and C. frutescens) for the presence of PeVYV by reverse transcription polymerase reactions using specific primers. Overall, PeVYV was widely detected in bird peppers on the three islands (Okinawa, Miyako and Yonaguni) where the bell pepper disease occurred, but not detected in the plants from two islands (Ishigaki and Minami-Daito) with no disease. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that an Okinawa-derived strain of cotton aphid Aphis gossypii transmitted PeVYV from viruliferous wild bird peppers to the bell peppers, which may suggest an annual supply of PeVYV from wild bird peppers to the bell peppers via aphids in Okinawa Prefecture. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the nucleotide sequences of seven distinct genomic regions suggested that PeVYV detected from the bell peppers and bird peppers are indistinguishable, supporting the view that PeVYV moves frequently between these host plants.

We present the relationship between yield, mineral content, and the sap bleeding rate (SBR) caused by root pressure as an indicator of root activity in eight Dutch and eight Japanese tomato cultivars (including popular Japanese cultivar ‘Momotaro’) grown in a hydroponic system. Root dry weight in the rockwool slab was positively correlated with stem and leaf fresh weight. In the Dutch cultivars, the SBR remained high (over 20 mL∙h^-1) as the root dry weight increased. In contrast, the SBR of Japanese ‘Momotaro’ series cultivars decreased. Ca in the tomato fruits and the SBR were higher in the Dutch cultivars than in the ‘Momotaro’ series. The SBR was found to positively correlate with fruit or total fresh weight. The higher SBR, which supports Ca transport to the fruits, probably led to the higher yields. The SBR might be a simplified indicator of selecting high-yielding cultivars in long-term cultivation.

This study aimed to identify suitable areas for rice cultivation by evaluating the soil characteristics of underdeveloped land in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two transect lines were set on the Zaw floodplain (ZFP) along the White Volta River in the Northern Region of Ghana for a detailed survey on land types and soil sampling. Land types identified along the transect lines were upland (U), lowland grass (Lg), lowland shallow swamp (Lss), and lowland deep swamp (Lds). The soil texture for U, Lg, and Lss was classified as silt loam (SiL), while Lds was classified as silty clay loam (SiCL). Soil pH (H₂O) was above 6 for U and Lg, and below 6 for Lss and Lds. Extractable S and available Zn were significantly greater in Lds than in other land types. Available Cu, Mn, Ni, and total nitrogen (T-N) were significantly lower in U, and total carbon (T-C) was significantly greater in Lds than in other land types. Factor analysis indicated that Lds had better soil fertility and sulfur availability than other land types. However, it seemed unsuitable for rice production due to deep water depth during the rainy season. Although Lss seemed to be relatively less suitable than Lds due to low soil fertility and low sulfur availability, the water depth in Lss was not as deep as in Lds. Access to a water source was easier in Lss than in Lg; thus, the Lss land type was considered comparatively suitable land for rice production in the study area. Nevertheless, the result implies that soil fertility and sulfur could be constraints, thereby requiring the proper application of fertilizer.

A 33-month-old indoor sow showed a sudden loss of appetite and then died. Necropsy revealed a sponge-like appearance of the liver parenchyma, encephalomalacia, and dark red coloration of the heart. Histologically, extensive necrotic lesions were detected in the liver, brain and heart, and Grampositive rods were detected in these necrotic lesions. Immunohistochemically, the rods reacted with an antibody against Clostridium species. Anaerobic cultures yielded high numbers of Clostridium novyi (C. novyi) type B. These findings suggested that necrosis and encephalomalacia were associated with C. novyi type B. C. novyi type B infection was diagnosed as the cause of death, and this was a case of fatal C. novyi type B infection with gas gangrene in an indoor sow.

Through its website, the NARO Genebank (former NIAS Genebank) has been providing to the scientific community and general public different types of information regarding genetic resources including passport, characterization, evaluation and photographic data, in order to facilitate access to their conserved genetic resource records. However, the website currently lacks information on farming culture associated with the genetic resources at collection sites, as most of its currently accessible photographs are captured from experimental fields or laboratories. In contrast, photographs of in situ conditions taken in the fields of farmers during the exploration of plant genetic resources capture both biological and cultural information, such as crop morphology, geographical and habitat ecological conditions, farming implementations, ethnic costumes, people’s lifestyles, cooking procedures, and other information. Unfortunately, most of these photographs are being hoarded and will likely never be accessible by the public. In order to disclose a large number of in situ photographs, we have developed a new web-retrievable database called the “Agricultural Field Study Database,” in which photographs are searchable with keyword tags and computational image similarity that allow the user to browse and retrieve them, along with map data and relevant genetic resources information. This system will expand the information currently provided by the NARO Genebank with ethnobotanical information, thereby granting useful resources to a wider range of research fields, particularly disciplines related to anthropology and ethnobotany.