Staff

KASUGA Jun

Associate Professor

Theme

Winter freezing adaptation mechanism of plants

My Dream

Understanding of freezing resistance mechanisms of boreal trees

Belongs

Research Center for Global Agromedicine, Department of Agriculture and Animal Science

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

Faculty (Unit)

Plant Production Program

Grad school (Course)

Doctoral and Master's Program of Animal Science and Agriculture, Plant Production Science

Field of research Plant physiology, Plant ecophysiology
Keyword Tree, Birch, Wine grape, Potato, Stress, Temperature, Water, Freezing, Acclimation, Omics, Protein, Tissue culture

Introduction

I conduct research on plant physiology in topics closely related to Hokkaido and Obihiro, such as the cultivation of potatoes, which are a major crop of the Tokachi region, and the freezing tolerance of plants that grow in cold environments like that of Hokkaido. I place particular focus on the cold resistance of trees in cold regions and have presented new knowledge, such as the existence of a component that accelerates the supercooling of water in xylem parenchymatous cells, which can maintain water in cells in liquid form without freezing even at temperatures as low as -30°C. In recent years, I've been studying the cold resistance of grapes for wine making (the grapes' production has been increasing in Tokachi). It is generally said that the winter buds of grapes are the most susceptible to frost damage. Although supercooling occurs in winter buds at sub-zero temperatures, its mechanism remains largely unknown. I hope to contribute to regional crop cultivation through basic research.

Sampling of birch twigs in winter

List of current research topics

  • Freezing adaptation mechanisms of wine grapes
  • Freezing-deacclimation mechanisms of boreal trees
  • Comparative proteomic analysis of frost-susceptible cultivated and frost-tolerant wild potatoes
Related industries Plant breeding, Caltivation technique
Affiliated academic society The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists, Japanese Society for Cryobiology and Cryotechnology, Japanese Society of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Engineers and Scientists
Academic degree Ph.D.
Room address General Research Building I
Mail address jkasuga atmark obihiro.ac.jp

List