Publication

Papers and Reviews

  1. Tezuka, D., Cho, H, Onodera, Qianyan Linghu, Chijimatsu, T., Hata, M., and Imai, R.* (2024) Redirecting Barley Breeding for Grass Production through Genome Editing of Photoperiod-H1. Plant Physiology 195, 287-290.

  1. Ota, T., Saburi, W., Tagami, T., Yu, J., Komba, S., Jewell, L.E., Hsiang, T., Imai, R., Yao, M., Mori, H. (2023) Identification and characterization of extracellular GH3 β-glucosidase from the pink snow mold fungus, Microdochium nivale. Journal of Biological Chemistry 299, 105294-105294 

  1. Ota, T., Saburi, W., Jewell, L.E., Hsiang, T., Imai, R., Mori, H. (2023) Identification and characterization of extracellular GH3 β-glucosidase from the pink snow mold fungus, Microdochium nivale. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry , 87, 707-716.

  1. Luo, W., Suzuki, R., Imai, R.* (2023) Precise in planta genome editing via homology-directed repair in wheat. Plant Biotechnology Journal 21, 668-670.

  1. Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2023) Mechanisms of cold-induced immunity in plants. Physiologia Plantarum e13846, doi: 10.1111/ppl.13846.

  1. Fukuda, M., Uefune, K., Fukaki, H., Yamauchi, Y., Hara-Nishimura, I., Ozawa, R., Matsui, K., Sugimoto, K., Okada, K., Imai, R., Takahashi, K., Enami, S., Wurst, R., Takabayashi, J.  (2022) Aerial (+)-borneol modulates root morphology, auxin signalling and meristematic activity in Arabidopsis roots. Biology Letters 18, 20210629.

  1. Kumagai, Y., Liu, Y., Hamada, H., Luo, W., Zhu, J.,Kuroki, M., Nagira, Y., Taoka, N., Katoh, E., Imai, R.* (2022) Introduction of a second 'Green Revolution' mutation into wheat via in planta CRISPR/Cas9 delivery. Plant Physiology,  188, 1838–1842.

  1. Tezuka, D., Matsuura, H., Saburi, W., Mori, H., Imai, R.* (2021) A ubiquitously expressed UDP-glucosyltransferase, UGT74J1, controls basal salicylic acid levels in rice. Plants 10, 1875.

  1. Isobe, A., Kuwabara, C., Koike, M., Sutoh, K., Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2021) An apoplastic defensin of wheat elicits the production of extracellular polysaccharides in snow mold. Plants  10, 1607.

  1. Kuwabara, C., Sasaki, K., Umeki, N., Hoshino, T. & Saburi, Matsui, H., Imai, R.* (2021) A model system for studying plant–microbe interactions under snow. Plant Physiology 185, 1489-1494.

  1. Liu, Y., Luo, W., Linghu, Q, Abe, F., Hisano, H., Sato, K., Kamiya,  Y., Kawaura, K.,  Onishi, K., Endo, M., Toki, S., Hamada, H., Nagira, Y., Taoka, N., Imai, R.* (2021) In planta genome editing in commercial wheat varieties. Frontiers in Plant Science 12, 648841. 

  1. Imai, R.*, Hamada, H., Liu, Y., Linghu, Q., Kumagai,  Y., Nagira, Y., Miki, R., Taoka, N. (2020) In planta particle bombardment (iPB): A new method for plant transformation and genome editing. Plant Biotechnology (Tokyo) 37, 171-176.

  1. Taguchi, Y., Saburi,  W., Imai, R., Mori, H. (2020) Efficient one-pot enzymatic synthesis of trehalose 6-phosphate using GH65 α-glucoside phosphorylases. Carbohydrate Research 488, 107902-107902.

  1. Tezuka, D., Kawamata, A, Kato, H., Saburi, W,, Mori, H., Imai, R.* (2019) The rice ethylene response factor OsERF83 positively regulates disease resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 135, 263-271.

  1. Hamada, H., Liu, Y., Nagira,  Y., Miki, R.,  Taoka, N., Imai, R.* (2018) Biolistic-delivery-based transient CRISPR/Cas9 expression enables in planta genome editing in wheat. Scientific Reports 8, 14422.

  1. Islam, M.O., Kato, H., Shima, S., Tezuka, D., Matsui, H., Imai, R.* (2018) Functional identification of a rice trehalase gene involved in salt stress tolerance. Gene 685, 42-49.

  1. Christova, P.K., Christov, N.K., Mladenov, P. V., Imai, R. (2018) The wheat multidomain cystatin TaMDC1 displays antifungal, antibacterial, and insecticidal activities in planta. Plant Cell Report 37, 923–932.

  1. Liu, Y., Imai, R.* (2018) Function of Plant DExD/H-Box RNA Helicases Associated with Ribosomal RNA Biogenesis. Frontiers in Plant Science 9, 125.

  1. Hamada, H., Linghu, Q., Nagira , Y., Miki, R., Taoka, N., Imai, R.* (2017) An in planta biolistic method for stable wheat transformation. Scientific Reports. 7, 11443.

  1. Taguchi, Y., Saburi, W., Imai, R., Mori, H. (2017) Evaluation of acceptor selectivity of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis trehalose 6-phosphate phosphorylase in the reverse phosphorolysis and synthesis of a new sugar phosphate. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. 81, 1512-1519.

  1. Liu, Y., Tabata, D., Imai, R.* (2016) A cold-inducible DEAD-Box RNA helicase from Arabidopsis thaliana regulates plant growth and development under low temperature. PLoS ONE, e0154040.

  1. Sasaki, K., Kuwabara, C., Umeki, N., Fujioka, M., Saburi, W., Matsui, H., Abe, F., Imai, R.* (2016) The cold-induced defensin TAD1 confers resistance against snow mold and Fusarium head blight in transgenic wheat. Journal of Biotechnology. 228, 3-7.

  1. Sasaki, K., Liu Y., Kim, M.H., Imai, R.* (2015) An RNA chaperone, AtCSP2, negatively regulates salt stress tolerance. Plant Signaling and Behavior 10, e1042637.

  1. Sutoh, K., Washio, K., Imai, R., Wada, M., Nakai, T., Yamauchi, D. (2015) An N-terminal region of a Myb-like protein is involved in its intracellular localization and activation of a gibberellin-inducible proteinase gene in germinated rice seeds. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. 79, 47-59.

  1. Tezuka, D., Ito, A., Mitsuhashi, W., Toyomasu, T., Imai, R.* (2015) The rice ent-KAURENE SYNTHASE LIKE 2 encodes a functional ent-beyerene synthase. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 460, 766-771.

  1. Sasaki, K., Kim, M.H., Kanno, Y., Seo, M., Kamiya, Y., Imai, R.* (2015) Arabidopsis COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 2 influences ABA accumulation in seed and negatively regulates germination. Biochemcal and Biophysical Research Communications 456, 380–384.

  1. Chojnacka, M., Szewińska, J., Mielecki, M., Nykiel, M., Imai, R., Bielawski, W., Orzechowski, S. (2015) A triticale water-deficit-inducible phytocystatin inhibits endogenous cysteine proteinases in vitro. Journal of Plant Physiology 174,161–165.

  1. Christov, N.K., Christova, P.K., Kato, H., Liu, Y., Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2014) TaSK5, an abiotic stress-inducible GSK3/Shaggy-like kinase from wheat, confers salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 84, 251-260. [IF: 3.40]

  1. Xie, G., Sasaki, K., Imai, R., Xie, D. (2014) A redox-sensitive cysteine residue regulates the kinase activities of OsMPK3 and OsMPK6 in vitro. Plant Science 227, 69–75. 

  1. Radkova, M., Vítámvás, P., Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2014) Development- and cold-regulated accumulation of cold shock domain proteins in wheat. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 77, 44–48. 

  1. Sasaki, K., Christov, N., Tsuda, S., Imai, R.* (2014) Identification of a novel LEA protein involved in freezing tolerance in wheat. Plant and Cell Physiology, 55, 136-47.

  1. Kim, M.H., Sato, S., Sasaki, K., Saburi, W., Matsui, H., Imai, R.* (2013) COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 3 is involved in salt and drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. FEBS Open Bio 3, 438–442.

  1. Himeno, N., Saburi, W., Wakuta, S., Takeda, R., Matsuura, H., Nabeta, K., Sansenya, S., Ketudat-Cairns, J.R., Mori, H., Imai, R., Matsui, H. (2013) Identification of rice β-glucosidase with high hydrolytic activity towards salicylic β- D-glucoside. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 77, 934-939.

  1. Kim, M.H., Sonoda, Y., Sasaki, K., Kaminaka, H., Imai, R.*(2013) Interactome analysis reveals versatile functions of Arabidopsis COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 3 in RNA processing within the nucleus and cytoplasm. Cell Stress and Chaperones 18, 517-525.

  1. Sasaki, K., Kim, M.H., Imai, R.* (2013) Arabidopsis COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 2 is a negative regulator of cold acclimation. New Phytologist 198, 95-102.

  1. Kumar, S., Berberich, T., Lee, S., Hwan, S., Yang, S., Zhu, X., Imai, R., Takahashi, Y., Kusano, T. (2012) Deregulation of sucrose-controlled translation of a bZIP-type transcription factor results in sucrose accumulation in leaves. PLoS ONE 7, e33111.

  1. Xie, G., Kato, H., Imai, R.* (2012) Biochemical identification of the OsMKK6-OsMPK3 signaling pathway for chilling stress tolerance in rice. Biochemical Journal. 443, 95-102

  1. Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2011) Pleiotropic roles of cold shock domain proteins in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 2, 116.

  1. Kihara, A., Saburi, W., Wakuta, S., Kim, M.H., Hamada, S., Ito, H., Imai, R., Matsui, H. (2011) Physiological and biochemical characterization of three nucleoside diphosphate kinase isozymes from rice (Oryza sativa L.) Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. 75, 1740-1745.

  1. Wakuta, S., Hamada, S., Ito, H., Imai, R., Mori, H., Matsuura, H., Nabeta, K., Matsui, H. (2011) Comparison of enzymatic properties and gene expression profiles of two tuberonic acid glucoside β-glucosidases from Oryza sativa L. Journal of Applied Glycoscience 58, 67-70.

  1. Kato, H., Xie, G, Sato, Y., Imai, R.* (2010) Isolation of anther-specific gene promoters suitable for transgene expression in rice. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 28, 381-387.

  1. Sutoh, K., Sanuki, N., Sakaki, T., Imai, R.* (2010) Specific induction of TaAAPT1, an ER- and Golgi-localized ECPT-type aminoalcoholphosphotransferase, results in preferential accumulation of the phosphatidylethanolamine membrane phospholipid during cold acclimation in wheat. Plant Molecular Biology 72, 519-531.

  1. Iordachescu, M., Bowman, H., Sasaki, K., Imai, R., Satoh, S., Verlinden, S. (2009) Subcellular localization and changes in mRNA abundance of CEBP, a nuclear-encoded chloroplast protein, during flower development and senescence. Journal of Plant Biology 52, 365-373.

  1. Kim, M., Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2009) COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 3 regulates freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Biological Chemistry 284, 23454-23460.

  1. Xie, G., Kato, H., Sasaki, K., Imai, R.* (2009) A cold-induced thioredoxin h of rice, OsTrx23, negatively regulates kinase activities of OsMPK3 and OsMPK6 in vitro. FEBS Letters 583, 2734-2748.

  1. Kuwabara, C., Imai, R.* (2009) Molecular basis of disease resistance acquired through cold acclimation. Journal of Plant Biology 52, 19-26.

  1. Koike, M., Kato, H., Imai, R.* (2008) Diversification of the barley and wheat blt101/wpi6 promoters by the Xumet-like element without affecting stress responsiveness. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 280, 41-47.

  1. Christov, N. K., Imai, R., Blume, Y. (2008) Differential expression of two winter wheat alpha tubulin genes during cold acclimation.  Cell Biology International 32, 574-578.

  1. Iordachescu, M., Imai, R.* (2008) Trehalose biosynthesis in response to abiotic stresses. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 50, 1223-1229.

  1. Sasaki, K., Kim, M,-H., Imai, R.* (2007) Arabidopsis COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN2 is a RNA chaperone that is regulated by cold and developmental signals. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 364, 633-638.

  1. Shima, S., Matsui, H., Tahara, S., Imai, R.* (2007) Biochemical characterization of rice trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatases supports distinctive functions of these plant enzymes. FEBS Journal 274, 1192-1201.

  1. Christov, N.K. Yoneyama, S., Shimamoto, Y., Imai, R.* (2007) Differential expression of wheat genes during cold acclimation. Cytology and Genetics 41, 13-22.

  1. Nakaminami, K., Karlson, D.T., Imai, R.* (2006) Functional conservation of cold shock domains in bacteria and higher plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 103, 10122-10127. 

  1. Christova, P.D., Christov, N.K., Imai, R.* (2006) A cold-inducible multidomain cystatin of winter wheat inhibits growth of the snow mold fungus, Microdochium nivale. Planta 223, 1207-1218.

  1. Koike, M., Sutoh, K., Kawakami, A., Torada, A., Oono, K., Imai, R.* (2005) Molecular characterization of a cold-induced plasma membrane protein gene from wheat. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 274, 445-453.

  1. Shimizu, H., Satoh, K., Berberich, T., Miyazaki, A., Ozaki, R., Imai, R., Kusano, T. (2005) LIP19, a basic region leucine zipper protein, is a Fos-like molecular switch in the cold signaling of rice plants. Plant and Cell Physiology 46, 1623-1634.

  1. Nakaminami, K., Sasaki, K., Kajita, S., Takeda, H., Karlson, D., Ohgi, K. Imai, R.* (2005) Heat stable ssDNA/RNA-binding activity of a wheat cold shock domain protein. FEBS Letters 579, 4887-4891.

  1. Pramanik, M.H.R., Imai, R.* (2005) Functional identification of a trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase gene that is involved in transient induction of trehalose biosynthesis during chilling stress in rice. Plant Molecular Biology 58, 751-762.

  1. Sentoku, N., Kato, H., Kitano, H., Imai, R. (2005) OsMADS22, an STMADS11-like MADS-box gene of rice, is expressed in non-vegetative tissues and its ectopic expression induces spikelet meristem indeterminacy. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 273, 1-9.

  1. Imai, R., Ali, A., Pramanik, M.H.R., Nakaminami, K., Sentoku, N., Kato, H. (2004) A distinctive class of spermidine synthase is involved in chilling response in rice. Journal of Plant Physiology 161, 883-886.

  1. Zhang, L., Onda, K., Imai, R., Fukuda, R., Horiuchi, H., Ohta, A. (2003) Growth temperature shift induces antioxidant response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 307, 308-314.

  1. Karlson, D., Imai, R.* (2003) Conservation of the cold shock domain protein family in plants. Plant Physiology 131, 12-15.

  1. Koike, M., Okamoto, T., Tsuda, S., Imai, R.* (2002) A novel plant defensin-like gene of winter wheat is specifically induced during cold acclimation. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 298, 46-53.

  1. Karlson, D., Nakaminami, K., Toyomasu, T., Imai, R.* (2002) A cold-regulated nucleic acid-binding protein of winter wheat shares a domain with bacterial cold shock proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry 277, 35248-35256.

  1. Wen, J.Q., Oono, K., Imai, R.* (2002) Two novel mitogen-activated protein signaling components, OsMEK1 and OsMAP1, are involved in a moderate low temperature signaling pathway in rice. Plant Physiology 129, 1880-1991.

  1. Ivashuta, S., Imai, R., Uchiyama, K., Gau, M., Shimamoto, Y. (2002) Changes in chloroplast FtsH-like gene during cold acclimation in alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Journal of Plant Physiology 159, 85-90.

  1. Iwama, M., Ogawa, Y., Yamagishi, M., Itagaki, T., Inokuchi, N., Koyama, T., Imai, R., Ohgi, K., Tsuji, T., Irie, M. (2001) Amino acid sequence and characterization of a rice bran ribonuclease. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 24, 760-766.

  1. Zhang, L., Ohta, A., Horiuchi, H., Takagi, M., Imai, R.* (2001) Multiple mechanisms regulate expression of low temperature responsive (LOT) genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 283, 531-535.

  1. Zhang, L., Ohta, A., Takagi, M., Imai, R.* (2000) Expression of plant group 2 and group 3 lea genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed functional divergence among LEA proteins. Journal of Biochemistry 127, 611-616.

  1. Ivashuta, S., Imai, R., Uchiyama, K., Gau, M. (1999) The coupling of differential display and AFLP approaches for nonradioactive mRNA fingerprinting. Molecular Biotechnology 12, 137-141.

  1. Bray, E.A., Shih, T.-Y., Moses, M.S., Cohen, A., Imai, R., Plant, A.L. (1999) Water-deficit induction of a tomato H1 histone requires abscisic acid. Plant Growth Regulation 29, 35-46.

  1. Rebers, M., Kaneta, T., Kawaide, H., Yamaguchi, S., Yang,Y-Y., Imai, R., Sekimoto, H., Kamiya, Y. (1999) Regulation of gibberellin biosynthesis genes during flower and early fruit development of tomato. The Plant Journal 17, 241-251. 

  1. Kawaide, H., Imai, R., Sassa, T., Kamiya, Y. (1997) ent-Kaurene synthase from the fungus Phaeosphaeria sp. L487: cDNA isolation, characterization and bacterial expression of a bifunctional diterpene cyclase in fungal gibberellin biosynthesis. Journal of Biological Chemistry 272, 21706-21712.

  1. Bray, E.A., Cohen, A., Plant, A., Moses, M.S., Imai, R., Griffiths, A (1997) Regulation of gene expression by endogenous ABA in tomato Plants. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 19, 405-418.

  1. Imai, R., Chang, L., Ohta, A., Bray, E.A., Takagi, M. (1996) A lea-class gene of tomato confers salt and freezing tolerance when expressed in Saccharamyces cerevisiae. Gene 170, 243-248.

  1. Imai, R., Moses, M.S., Bray, E.A. (1995) Expression of an ABA-induced gene of tomato in transgenic tobacco during periods of water deficit. Journal of Experimental Botany 46, 1077-1084.

  1. Nagata, Y., Hatta, T., Imai, R., Kimbara, K., Fukuda, M., Yano, K., Takagi, M. (1993) Purification and characterization of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH) dehydrochlorinase originated from Pseudomonas paucimobilis. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 57, 1582-1583.

  1. Nagata, Y., Imai, R., Sakai, A., Fukuda, M., Yano, K., Takagi, M. (1993) Isolation and characterization of Tn5-induced mutants of Pseudomonas paucimobilis UT26 defect in gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane dehydrochlorinase (LinA). Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry 57, 703-709.

  1. Imai, R., Nagata, Y., Fukuda, M., Takagi, M., Yano, K. (1991) Molecular cloning of a Pseudomonas paucimobilis gene encoding a 17-kilodalton polypeptide that eliminates HCl molecules from gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane.  Journal of Bacteriology 173, 6811-6819.

  1. Imai, R., Nagata,Y., Senoo,K., Wada, H., Fukuda, M., Takagi, M., Yano, K. (1989) Dehydrochlorination of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-BHC) by gamma-BHC assimilating Pseudomonas paucimobilis. Agricultural and Biological Chemistry 53, 2015-2017.

  1. Imai, R., Sekiguchi, T., Nosoh, Y., Tsuda, K. (1987) The nucleotide sequence of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase gene from Bacillus subtilis. Nucleic Acids Research 15, 4988-4988.

Books

1. Kim, M-H, Imai, R.* (2014) Determination of RNA chaperone activity using Escherichia coli mutant. In: Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 1259) (M. Boudvillain ed), 117-123. Springer New York.

 

2. Imai, R.*, Kim, M.H., Sasaki, K., Sonoda, Y. (2013) Cold shock domain proteins in Arabidopsis: functions in stress tolerance and development. In: Plant and Microbe Adaptations to Cold in a Changing World. (Imai, R, Yoshida, M. Matsumoto, N. eds), pp131-142. Springer, N.Y., USA.

 

3. Iordachescu, M. and Imai, R.* (2011) Trehalose and abiotic stress in biological systems. In Abiotic Stress in plants: mechanisms and adaptations. (A.K.Shanker and B.Venkateswarlu eds.), InTech, Croatia, 215-234.

 

4. Sasaki, K., Kim, M.-H., Imai, R.* (2009) Expressional and functional characterization of Arabidopsis cold-shock domain proteins. In Plant Cold Hardiness: from the Laboratory to the Field. (Gusta, L.V., Wisniewski, M., Tanino, K. eds), CAB International, Oxfordshire, UK, pp55-59.

 

5. Imai, R., Wen, J., Sasaki, K., Oono, K. (2005) Diverse mechanisms of low-temperature stress response in rice. In: Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st century. (Toriyama, K., Heong, K.L., Hardy, B. eds.) pp54-56. IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines, JIRCAS, Tsukuba, Japan. ISBN971-22-0204-6.

 

6. Bray, E.A., Moses, M.S., Chung, E, Imai, R. (1996) The role of abscisic acid in the regulation of gene expression during drought stress. In Physical stresses in plants. (Grillo, S. and Leone, A. eds) pp131-139. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

 

7. Bray, E.A., Moses, M.S., Imai, R., Cohen, A., Plant, A.L. (1993) Regulation of gene expression by endogenous abscisic acid during drought stress. In Plant Responses to Cellular Dehydration during Environmental stress. (T.J. Close and E.A. Bray. eds) pp167-176. American Society of Plant Physiologists, Baltimore, MD.

 

8. Imai, R., Nagata, Y., Fukuda, M., Takagi, M., Yano, K. (1992) Isolation and characterization of a dehydrochlorinase gene for the degradation of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane in Pseudomonas paucimobilis. In Pseudomnas: Molecular biology and Biotechnology. (Galli, E., Silver, S., and Witholt, B. eds) pp.292-300. American Society for Microbiology, Washingtong, DC.

 

9. Sekiguchi, T., Imai, R., Suda, M., Nosoh, Y., Tsuda, K. (1986) Comparison of the coding region and flanking region near initiation codon for the 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase genes from mesophile and thermophile. In Contenporary Themes in Biochemistry (Kon, O.L. et al, eds.) pp. 168-169. ICSU Press, Cambridge.


日本語総説，著書  Reviews and Books in Japanese