A research group led by Assistant Professor Moeko Okada of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Agriculture) has elucidated the diversity among wheat varieties through gene cataloging.
A research group led by Visiting Professor Kentaro Shimizu of the Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University (also Director and Professor of the Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Zurich), Assistant Professor Moeko Okada of the Faculty of Agriculture, Yokohama City University (formerly Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at Yokohama City University), Professor Shuhei Nasuda of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, and Professor Yuichi Handa of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, in collaboration with the International 10+ Wheat Genome Project*1, conducted a comprehensive gene expression analysis of nine wheat varieties, including Norin 61, a representative Japanese variety. They revealed that Norin 61 possesses a distinctive chromosomal region not found in other varieties. Many novel genes that function specifically in tissues and genes related to disease resistance were found in this region, and it is expected that this will promote genome breeding as a useful material for developing new varieties for stable wheat production worldwide in the future.
The results of this research have been published in the international scientific journal "Nature Communications".
Key points of this research
- Genome and transcriptome analysis of nine wheat varieties from around the world, including Norin 61, a leading Japanese wheat variety, has led to the discovery of numerous novel genes, including disease resistance genes.
- Analysis of gene composition and gene expression revealed that there are greater genetic differences (inter-breed differences) than those between individual humans.
- By utilizing the genes for disease resistance and other characteristics unique to Japanese varieties identified in this study, it is expected that we can contribute to global food security.
[Terminology]
*1 International 10+ Wheat Genome Project
This international project was launched with the aim of establishing a foundation for the analysis of mutations in the wheat genome. Research institutions from various countries, including Japan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Australia, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, are participating.
Research details
Paper information
[Publication] Nature Communications
[Paper Title] De novo annotation reveals transcriptomic complexity across the hexaploid wheat pan-genome
[Author] Benjamen White, Thomas Lux, Rachel Rusholme-Pilcher, Angéla Juhász, Gemy Kaithakottil, Susan Duncan, James Simmonds, Hannah Rees, Jonathan Wright, Joshua Colmer, Sabrina Ward, Ryan Joynson, Benedict Coombes, Naomi Irish, Suzanne Henderson, Tom Barker, Helen Chapman, Leah Catchpole, Karim Gharbi, Utpal Bose, Moeko Okada, Hirokazu Handa, Shuhei Nasuda, Kentaro K Shimizu, Heidrun Gundlach, Daniel Lang, Guy Naamati, Erik J Legg, Arvind K Bharti, Michelle L Colgrave, Wilfried Haerty, Cristobal Uauy, David Swarbreck, Philippa Borrill, Jesse A Poland, Simon G Krattinger, Nils Stein, Klaus FX Mayer, Curtis Pozniak, 10+ Wheat Genome Project, Manuel Spannagl & Anthony Hall
[doi]10.1038/s41467-025-64046-1