Research Director

Masanori Izumi

RIKEN
Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Research Scientist

Outline

During the lifespan of plant leaves, photosynthesis capacity is maximum in young, mature leaves, and then is attenuated due to the degradation of chloroplast proteins. In rice plants, the maximum capacity of photosynthesis is maintained just a few days during dozen days of lifespan of leaves, which is not optimized in terms of the improvement of the yield. In this project, I attempt to establish the novel technique of molecular design enabling the optimization of the degradation of chloroplast proteins and subsequent attenuation of photosynthesis under the condition of agricultural fields.