Our new project on principles in the birth of new plant species has launched in Japan. Currently 24 researchers are involved in this project. More than 15 researchers will be added next April. This project is for 5 years from 2016 to 2021. Researchers in the sexual plant reproduction field will work together with structural biologists, synthetic chemists, and bioinformaticians. Live-cell imaging is also our strength. Collaboration and networking are expected between our project and foreign researchers.

Photographs show our kickoff symposium and seven core researchers (from left to right: Seiji Takayama, Miyako Ueguchi-Tanaka, Masao Watanabe, Tetsuya Higashiyama, Hiroyuki Tsuji, Tetsu Kinoshita, Jun Sese).

Other researchers involve (Nagoya) M. Kanaoka, J. Bode, K. Itami, S. Yamaguchi, M. Matsuoka, N. Watanabe, (Yokohama) T. Ban, K. Shimizu, (Nara) T. Ito, S. Fujii, K. Murase, (Chiba) T. Tsuchimatsu, (Ehime) T. Sawazaki, (Osaka) G. Suzuki, (Mie) K. Suwabe, (Kyoto) T. Akagi, A. Kawabe.

We will try to provide new concepts and technologies regarding the birth of new plant species and lock-and-key molecular systems in sexual reproduction.

Best wishes,

Tetsuya Higashiyama

Research Director of the project "Determining principles in the birth of new plant species: elucidation of lock-and-key molecular systems in sexual reproduction" http://www.ige.tohoku.ac.jp/prg/plant/english/outline.html

President of International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction Research (IASPRR)

http://www.iasprr.org/

Vice-director/Professor of Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University

http://www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/

Professor of Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University http://www.bio.nagoya-u.ac.jp/english/