Plants have thrived on earth using strategies for growth and reproduction adapted to their environment.  The important organ in reproductive strategy is "hermaphrodite" having female pistil and male stamen in a single flower.  Hermaphrodites are capable of self-fertilization, which ensures that the next generation can reproduce on its own, as well as reproduction through crossbreeding with other individuals, which allows for the maintenance of genetic diversity. During the evolutionary process, plants have established several reproductive systems suited to their environment by adjusting the balance between selfing and outcrossing in "hermaphrodites" through changes in the structure of reproductive organs and signal transduction systems at the molecular level.  As a result, a highly diverted variety of reproductive systems, such as self-incompatibility, dichogamy, and dioecy, which promote out crossing is established.

 

Focusing on self-incompatibility, one of the plant reproductive systems, in our laboratory, we will elucidate the molecular mechanisms controlling selfing and outcrossing in plants with genetic and physiological methods, thereby deepening the comprehensive understanding of plant reproductive strategies.  In the future, the research will contribute to breeding and ecosystem maintenance.