Message from the Program Leader

Matsuo Uemura, Ph. D., Program Leader

Iwate University is located in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, where the temperature drops to as low as -20°C during the winter. The late frosts in the spring and early frosts in the autumn often give substantial damage to the crops in this basin area. The "Yamase," or a cold wind blowing from the Pacific Ocean, brings low temperatures during the summer, causing agricultural damage too often to bear. Since its establishment in 1902, Iwate University has always been carrying out research in technologies to cope with the cold climate and reduce agricultural damage so that the people in the local communities can enjoy a higher standard of living. Furthermore, the University has been sharing the results with people in other parts of the world. This year, a group of researchers at Iwate University launched a research program, entitled Establishment of Thermo-Biosystem Research Program: A Case Study of the Responses of Biological Systems to Cold. The program is designated by the Japanese government as one of the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) Programs.

The program members believe that an important key to protect crops from low temperatures can be found in the mechanisms of living organisms. Many plants and animals can survive in harsh winters, but too little is known about their mechanisms to answer intriguing questions: Why can some plants survive even in temperatures below freezing point? What kinds of differences exist between those plants that are tolerant to and those that are susceptible to cold temperatures? Why certain plants generate heat from their own bodies? Do the insects living in the northern areas have special mechanisms to survive the severe winters? Are there any different species of organisms that cooperate to adopt the local environment? And if any, what are their mechanisms?.... The questions that can be addressed are endless.

It must be worthwhile also to investigate the evolutional mechanisms of living organisms, which, since their first appearance on the earth, have been adopting their biological systems in order to survive through a number of extensive changes of temperature and other environmental conditions. While the modern global climate change is causing a considerable level of "global warming," how can we estimate the direction of living organisms in evolution? Even though we ourselves will not be able to witness the results of the evolution, with the accumulated results of research and full drive of computers, we may be able to make a prediction with a certain level of accuracy.

The bodies of humans and other animals have functions to sense the temperature in their surroundings and control their own body temperature accordingly. The members of the Program have learned that there are some plants in the environs of Iwate University campus that behave like these animals-sensing the external temperature and controlling their own. The temperature sensing devices of these plants are considered to be of a substantially higher accuracy than the artificial temperature sensors humans have developed. If we can elucidate the temperature sensing mechanisms of these plants, it will contribute greatly to industrial and medical applications.

In the COE Program, the mechanisms that "biological systems" use to transform "thermal energy" (physical information) into biological responses will be studied. Then these subjects in two different research fields will be combined to create a new, comprehensive research area, named "thermo-biosystem." We will make full use of the research results we have been accumulating and tackle the new field without hesitation to keep delivering unique and valuable information to the world from the campus of Iwate University. The COE members are eager to take up the challenges. The young researchers and students are enthusiastic about facing the challenges that lie ahead. As a whole group, we will be actively involved in the research and educational activities. Support and candid comments from everyone are always welcome.

Back