Dr. SHINOZAKI Daiki, a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Environmental Response Organelle Biology (Professor YOSHIMOTO Koki), Department of Life Sciences, School of Agriculture (Completed the Doctoral Program in the Life Sciences Program, School of Agriculture, at our university in FY2022), won the BSJ Young Botanist Prize as part of the Botanical Society of Japan Awards in FY2023 (20th). This prize is awarded to young researchers who have conducted outstanding research in the field of plant science and are anticipated to make significant contributions to its future advancement. He was awarded this prize in recognition of his research titled “Elucidation of the mechanism of metal stress adaptation through intracellular degradation via autophagy,” a project he has diligently pursued since his student days. The award lecture and presentation ceremony took place on September 8 during the 87th Annual Meeting of the Botanical Society of Japan, which was held at Hokkaido University’s Sapporo Campus.
Award for: Elucidation of the mechanism of metal stress adaptation through intracellular degradation via autophagy
In order for plants to grow healthily, they must absorb essential metal nutrients from the soil. Thus, plant growth is inhibited in soils deficient in metal nutrients. Dr. SHINOZAKI discovered that autophagy, an intracellular self-component decomposition system, contributes to the recycling of metal nutrients in the plant body. The existence of this mechanism allows plants to maintain their growth by effectively utilizing existing elements in the body, even when there is a lack of absorption of metal nutrients from the soil. Traditionally, research on the plant’s response to metal stress has predominantly centered around the sensing of metal nutrient levels and the absorption and transport of metal elements. Dr. SHINOZAKI made a significant contribution by incorporating the concept of ‘degradation and recycling’ into this context, which has greatly enhanced our understanding of the overall mechanism governing the maintenance of metal homeostasis within plant bodies. The outcomes of this research hold the promise of facilitating the development of crops capable of thriving in oligotrophic environments in the future.
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