Exploring the “actors” that control the growth and quality of yam tubers.
What is the main factor controlling tuber enlargement in yams, which have a unique reproductive mode of trophic reproduction by forming underground and aboveground tubers? Previous studies have revealed that formation and enlargement are skillfully controlled by the “above-ground (leaf) environment for the underground potatoes” and by the “below-ground (root) environment for the above-ground potatoes. In the future, we aim to elucidate the mechanism of tuber formation and enlargement through the above-ground-underground communication, and thereby obtain fundamental knowledge that can be applied to cultivation and breeding.On the other hand, yams have been found to contain several health-promoting substances, including diosgenin, and are expected to be used as a functional food. We are currently working to elucidate the oxidative browning mechanism by analyzing tuber components, etc. at the tuber enlargement stage and postharvest.
In addition, we are searching for differences among varieties and cultivation environments that enable high accumulation of functional substances, as well as generating daijo mutant lines using radiation, in an attempt to select promising high-yielding, high-quality lines and identify key regulatory factors.
