KATO Kiyoaki Professor

My DreamSearch for new health functionalities of rice

ThemeIdentification of cooked rice ingredients for strengthening health functionalities and elucidation of genes controlling component quantities

Field

Genetics, Plant breeding, Plant genomics

Keyword

Rice, Adzuki bean, Gene, Chromosome, Genome, Gene expression, Metabolite, Allergy, Immunity

Instructable research topic for doctoral thesis

  • 栽培北限地におけるイネとアズキの収量性
  • ストレス耐性、品質、食味、新規機能性など重要形質に関する遺伝的制御機構の解明と分子遺伝学的解明
Academic degree D.Agr.
Self introduction

Since my school days, I've continued doing research especially on rice, our staple food. Recently, I've been working with students to help with the production of rice that will be the main ingredient of Tokachibare, a local sake of Tokachi. Recently, I've become fascinated by the taste of anko (sweetened adzuki-bean paste). I'm researching adzuki beans.

Room addressGeneral Research Building 1
Room numberS3105
Mail address kiyoaki atmark obihiro.ac.jp

Belongs

Research Department/Department of Agro-environmental Science/Division of Plant Production Science/Section of Plant Production Science

Introduction

Hokkaido, which is known as a food base of Japan, is the northernmost area of cultivation for many of the nation's major crops. We're conducting research to search for genes necessary for the breed improvement of rice and adzuki beans, with the aim of stabilizing crop production in regions where cultivation in limited.
However, the rapid increase in various allergic diseases in the face of a lack of decisive treatments and other countermeasures has become a social problem. It's not just conventional animal proteins that are now causing food allergies. They can be caused by even a single grain of a staple such as rice or wheat, and the age of onset has broadened to cover everyone from infants to adults, making food allergies a serious problem. Therefore, we're working with researchers who specialize in allergies and immunology to elucidate the mechanism of anti-allergic responses associated with specific rice varieties. We're also working to develop a breeding method to suppress allergic reactions.
The aim of the research is to propose measures for food allergy reductions afforded by the daily consumption of rice and to contribute to safe, healthy eating habits.

List of current research topics

  • Search for new health functionalities of cooked rice and development of strengthening method
  • Elucidation of ingredients of cooked rice and development of improved method to determine the taste
  • Elucidation of temperature stress tolerance mechanism of adzuki and development of strengthening method
  • Elucidation of flowering system of adzuki and development of control method of flowering period
Related industries Seed, Biotechnology
Affiliated academic society Japanese Society of Breeding
Academic background 1989 Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University
1999 D.Agr. Hokkaido University
1989-1995 Researcher, POLA CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES, INC.
1995- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine