The Flower CRES-T project

Abstract

flowers by applying CRES-T to torenia using the chimeric repressors AGAMOUS (AG)-SRDX and TCP3-SRDX. Following this, we launched a project termed the Flower CRES-T project through collaboration among those research institutes deemed to have researchers with the necessary expertise and the facilities for production and analysis of transgenic flowers. It was really a leap in the dark for us (we Japanese often express such an attempt as “Jumping off the Kiyomizu Temple’s stage”) because at that time little information was available on the application of this method to other plant species, although the members of the project team were experienced specialists in this field. This special issue provides an insight into recent progress in the Flower CRES-T project. While positive results against a background of lack of information might have been achieved solely by the professional endeavors of the team, we believe that the excitement felt through the creation of novel flower forms was a great motivating force that acted as a catalyst in setting the team wholeheartedly behind this project. We hope that you too will be inspired by the findings reported in this issue. Please refer to the following project review for more information on details of the concepts and research strategies used for the project and for an overview of the contents of this issue. I would like to acknowledge the following people: President Dr. Hiroshi Ezura, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Taku Demura, Treasurer Dr. Chiaki Matsukura, Editorial Assistant Ms. Kuniko Yasumi, and the staff of the Japanese Society for Plant Cell and Molecular Biology (JSPCMB); Mr. Kiyotaka Takeuchi of International Academic Printing Co., Ltd. for assistance in publishing this issue; the reviewers for participating in improving the manuscripts; the Program Officer Dr. Shigeru Kuroda and Evaluation Committee member Dr. Hiromichi Morikawa (Professor emeritus at Hiroshima university) of the Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution (BRAIN) for their helpful and encouraging advice on research promotion; and all those involved in the promotion of this project. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid, “Research Project for Utilizing Advanced Technologies in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries,” from the Research Council, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (grant no. 1782) and the Programme for Promotion of Basic and Applied Researches for Innovations in Bio-oriented Industry from BRAIN. Seven members of the project, Dr. Masaru OhmeTakagi and Dr. Nobutaka Mitsuda of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Dr. Masahiro Nishihara of Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Dr. Michiyuki Ono of the University of Tsukuba Gene Research Center, Mr. Teruhiko Terakawa of Hokko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Dr. Yoshikazu Tanaka of the Institute of Plant Science, Suntory Holdings Ltd., and I, who were invited at the request of the editorial office of JSPCMB, mainly edited this issue. Dr. Ohme-Takagi, Dr. Nishihara, and I also played central roles in the editorial process. The Flower CRES-T project