2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Elucidation of the morphology of rice lodicules and the mechanism of spikelet opening and closing using X-ray micro-CT

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	22K19175
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Review Section	Medium-sized Section 39:Agricultural and environmental biology and related fields
Research Institution	Nagoya University
Principal Investigator	Oi Takao 名古屋大学, 生命農学研究科, 助教 (60752219)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	上口美弥子 (田中美弥子) 名古屋大学, 生物機能開発利用研究センター, 教授 (70377795) 山内卓樹名古屋大学, 生物機能開発利用研究センター, 准教授 (50726966)
Project Period (FY)	2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	イネ / 開花 / 3D形態解析 / コンピュータートモグラフィー / X線顕微鏡
Outline of Final Research Achievements	To elucidate the mechanism of the dynamic action of opening and closing of rice spikelets, we analyzed the three-dimensional(3D) images of minute lodicules using X-ray micro-CT (computed tomography), which allows non-destructive, rapid, and simple 3D analysis. First, the specimens were fixed, dehydrated, and dried in accordance with the method for preparations for electron microscopy, and then scanned at high resolution using X-ray CT for 3D analysis, allowing quantitative comparison of the tissue shape of the lodicules and the size and number of the cells that compose them before and after anthesis. We also performed live imaging, in which the panicles were placed in a flower arrangement and scanned in the X-ray CT over time, obtaining 3D data of the tissue shape of the spikelets in as little as one minute, and elucidating the changes in the morphology and spatial arrangement of the lodicules and glumes from opening to closing of spikelets.
Free Research Field	作物生産科学関連
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	研究成果の概要に示したように、X線マイクロCTを活用し、未知であったイネ鱗被の形態変化を組織・細胞レベルで捉え、イネ穎花の開閉メカニズムの解明に一定の寄与ができた。また、開発してきた観察法は今後のイネ研究だけでなく、広く植物の研究に貢献できる汎用性のある技術体系となると期待される。