◆The research group led by Professor Masao Adachi of the Department of Natural Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, and Specially Appointed Lecturer Kyoko Hagino of the International Marine Core Research Institute has been selected as one of Science magazine's "Top 10 Science Stories of 2024."
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The Discovery of the Nitrogen-Fixing Organelle "Nitroplast"
Professor Masao Adachi of the Department of Agricultural Sciences in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Specially Appointed Lecturer Kyoko Hagino of the International Marine Core Research Institute have succeeded in the stable cultivation of the diatom Braarudosphaera bigelowii for the first time in the world.Through collaborative research with a group led by Professor Jonathan Zehr at the University of California, Santa Cruz, regarding the cultured strain obtained, they revealed that the bodies derived from nitrogen-fixing bacteria observed within B. bigelowii cells possess characteristics of organelles (cellular organelles) that go beyond the scope of intracellular symbiosis.They reported this finding on April 12, 2024, in the U.S. journal *Science* as “nitroplast,” the first early nitrogen-fixing organelle confirmed in a eukaryote (*1*).
Because the discovery of eukaryotes possessing Nitroplast has the potential to contribute to research aimed at developing nitrogen-fixing food crops, this research was selected by *Science* magazine as one of the “Top 10 Science Stories of 2024” (*2*).
※１
[Title] Nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga
(Organellization of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in marine microalgae)
[Authors] Tyler H. Coale, Valentina Loconte, Kendra A. Turk-Kubo, Bieke Vanslembrouck, Wing Kwan Esther Mak, Shunyan Cheung, Axel Ekman, Jian-Hua Chen, Kyoko Hagino, Yoshihito Takano, Tomohiro Nishimura, Masao Adachi, Mark Le Gros, Carolyn Larabell, Jonathan P. Zehr
[Publication] Science
[Date Published] April 12, 2024
※2
[Title] Organelle discovery adds an evolutionary twist
(The discovery of organelles challenges evolutionary theory)
[Author] Elizabeth Pennisi
[Publication] Science, Vol. 386, Issue 6727
[Date Published] December 12, 2024
