Degree Program in Agricultural Sciences
Division of Biosphere Resource Science and Technology
The Division of Biosphere Resource Science and Technology consists of a total number of 20 disciplines (or research fields), including collaborative research fields participating from national research institutes. This division covers following two major fields, Biological Resource Science and Biosphere Environment Science.
Biological Resource Science field focuses on Plant genetics and breeding, Crop science, Olericulture and floriculture, Pomology and postharvest physiology of fruits, Animal science, Crop production system, Plant molecular biology, Metabolic network biology, Disease vector control, Epigenetics, Plant stress biology and International food production and development sciences. The educational goals of the field are to become knowledgeable and acquire research skills of the respective fields on molecular biology, genetics, physiology, and ecology in plants, animals, and insects for practical use, sustainable agriculture production, and environmental conservation in natural ecosystems and agro-ecosystems.
Biosphere Environment Science field focuses on Plant parasitic mycology, Applied entomology and zoology, Environmental soil chemistry, Environmental plant biochemistry, Forest ecotopology, Conservation of regional resources, Climate change impact assessment on vegetation and Forest genetics and ecology for sustainable tropical forest management. The educational goals of the field are to become knowledgeable and acquire research skills of comprehensive analysis of biosphere factors, and development of sustainable control and management systems for those factors.
Fields of research
Biological Resource Science field
Plant Breeding
- Study on conservation and efficient utilization of genetic resources
- Genetic analysis of important traits in crops
- Development of new cultivars and breeding materials with useful agronomic traits
- Pollination biology for seed multiplication of crops
Crop Science
- Physiological and ecological research for raising grain yield and quality of crop plants
- Physiological research on the mechanisms and control of stress tolerance in crop plants
Olericulture and Floriculture
- Molecular and physiological dissections of useful traits involved in agricultural production of vegetables and ornamental plants
- Development of genetic engineering and intensive production technologies for vegetables and ornamental plants
- Genetics and genomics for fleshy fruit (Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae) research and development
Pomology and Postharvest Physiology of Fruit
- Physiology of fruit during pre- and post-harvest
- Environmental and chemical growth regulation in fruit trees
- Propagation of woody plants
Animal Science
- Studies on reproduction and their applications in the conservation of animal genetic resources
- Holistic approaches toward the development of sustainable animal production system
- Development of novel healthy lean meat production system
Crop Production System
- Establishment of sustainable crop production systems with the consciousness of environmental load
- Development and utilization of high-level and stable production systems of millets and regional special crops
Plant Molecular Biology
- Molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in heterosis
- Molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in sexual plant reproduction
- Epigenetic engineering of plant development
Metabolic Network Biology
- Genetic analysis of important agronomic traits in crops and vegetables
- Development of analytical platforms to capture quantitative and qualitative changes in metabolite levels
- Metabolic network biology using “omics”’ datasets
Disease Vector Control
- Hormonal and nutritional regulation of reproduction in ticks and other arthropods
- Immune responses and their regulatory mechanisms in ticks and other arthropods
- Effects of nutrition and immune regulatory mechanisms on vector capacity of ticks
Epigenetics
- Defining cis-acting promoter and polycomb recruiting elements at Flowering Locus C (FLC)
- Function of FLC Polycomb recruiting elements in annual and perennial crucifers
- Epigenetic mechanism for quantitative and priming memory of Vernalization-Insensitive 3 (VIN3)
Plant Stress Biology
- Molecular elucidation of stress tolerance mechanisms in plants
- Development of environmental stress-tolerant crops
International Food Production and Development Sciences
- Morphological and physiological characterization of cowpea breeding materials for the development of machine-harvestable varieties
- Physiological mechanism of tuber initiation and growth of white guinea yam, Dioscorea rotundata
Biosphere Environment Science field
Plant Parasitic Mycology
- Systematics of plant parasitic fungi including symbiotic fungi, particularly rust fungi, blue stain fungi, endophytes, and mycorrhizal fungi
- Studies on the ecology and physiology of these fungi
- Functional analysis of genes associated with disease resistance in plants
Applied Entomology and Zoology
- MBiological control and chemical ecological approaches in pest management
- Insect immune mechanisms against pathogens and parasitoids
- Elucidating volatile compound-mediated plant–plant and plant–insect communications using molecular biology approaches
Environmental Soil Chemistry
- Soil environmental chemistry of natural and agro-ecosystems
- Formation and functions of soil organic matter
- Soil conservation under natural and agro-ecosytems
Forest Ecotopology
- Dynamics and function of forest ecosystem
- Vegetation science and management
- Conservation and restoration of arid and semi-arid ecosystem
- Conservation of endangered species
Conservation of Regional Resources
- Conservation genetics and population genetics of forest tree species
- Forest regeneration and dynamics, and architectural analysis of trees
- Population genetics/genomics of several types of species and its application to ecosystem management
- Conservation of rare species and management of alien species in rural areas
Climate Change Impact Assessment on Vegetation
- Relationship between distributions of forest vegetation and climatic conditions
- Impact assessment and adaptation planning of climate change on forest ecosystem functions and ecosystem services
- Ecological study on beech forests at their northern natural range limit
Forest Genetics and Ecology for Sustainable Tropical Forest Management
- Improvement of tropical forestry using indigenous genetic resources in Southeast Asian tropical forest
- Reproductive biology in Southeast Asian tropical forest and its application to sustainable forest management
- Tree breeding using tropical genetic resources to improve productivity and ecological services
Faculty
Biological Resource Science field
| Plant Breeding | Assoc Prof | YOSHIOKA Yosuke |
| Crop Science | Prof | NOMURA Koji |
| Prof | MATSUKURA Chiaki | |
| Asst Prof | KATO Morio | |
| Asst Prof | WANG Ning | |
| Olericulture and Floriculture | Prof | EZURA Hiroshi |
| Prof | FUKUDA Naoya | |
| Assoc Prof | KANG Seung Won | |
| Asst Prof | NONAKA Satoko | |
| Asst Prof | Lombardo Fabien Claude Renaud | |
| Asst Prof | TAKAYAMA Mariko | |
| Asst Prof | SUGIMOTO Koichi | |
| Pomology and Postharvest Physiology of Fruit | Prof | SUGAYA Sumiko |
| Asst Prof | SEKOZAWA Yoshihiko | |
| Animal Science | Asst Prof | ASANO Atsushi |
| Plant Molecular Biology | Prof | SHIBA Hiroshi |
| Metabolic Network Biology | Prof | KUSANO Miyako |
| Epigenetics | Assoc Prof | Diana Mihaela Buzas |
| Plant Stress Biology | Prof | FUJITA Yasunari |
| Animal Functional Biology | Prof | SAKUMOTO Ryosuke |
| Environmental Agronomy | Assoc Prof | MINAMIKAWA Kazunori |
Biosphere Environment Science field
| Plant Parasitic Mycology | Assoc Prof | OKANE Izumi |
| Asst Prof | ABE Junichi Peter | |
| Applied Entomology and Zoology | Assoc Prof | FURUKAWA Seiichi |
| Asst Prof | KINOSHITA Natsuko | |
| Asst Prof | KURAMITSU Kazumu | |
| Environmental Soil Chemistry | Prof | TAMURA Kenji |
| Asst Prof | ASANO Maki | |
| Environmental Plant Biochemistry | Prof | YAMAJI Keiko |
| Forest Ecotopology | Prof | KAMIJO Takashi |
| Asst Prof | KAWADA Kiyokazu | |
| Conservation of Regional Resources | Prof | TSUMURA Yoshihiko |
| Assoc Prof | SEINO Tatsuyuki | |
| Assoc Prof | TSUDA Yoshiaki | |
| Asst Prof | KADOWAKI Seishi | |
| Functional Utilization of Beneficial Insects | Prof | KIMURA Kiyoshi |
| Functional Analysis of Agro-forest Microorganisms | Prof | HATTORI Tsutomu |
| Climate Change Impact Assessment on Vegetation | Prof | MATSUI Tetsuya |
| Insect Functional Regulation (NARO) | Prof | TABATA Jun |
| Forest Genetics and Ecology for Sustainable Tropical Forest Management | Prof | TANI Naoki |