As symbolized by the Nobel Chemistry Prize in 2020, genome editing technology has been rapidly progressing in the past few years, and its application to crop improvement is highly expected. Towards the improvement of productivity, fine foods supply, and increase of food exports, we aim to develop precise genome editing technologies, and apply them to develop genome-edited crops which are socially acceptable.
Especially, we focus on
- Application of novel enzymes to crop species, to enable any patterns of genome editing
- Development of technology to simultaneously modify multiple genomic loci
- Development of technology to fine-tune gene expression via genome editing towards the fine designing of phenotypes
- Development of original technology for the delivery of genome-editing enzymes into crop tissues, to enable genome editing of diverse crop species
- Development of genome-edited crops which are innovative and socially acceptable, and evaluation of their properties in field conditions
- Acceleration of social understanding of genome-editing
