ASPB Pioneer Kazuo Shinozaki.pdf

Kazuo Shinozaki decided to be a scientist while a student at Utsunomiya High School in Japan, interested in protein and molecular biology, and studied biology at Osaka University. He investigated DNA replication in graduate school at Nagoya University and later analyzed chloroplast genes by DNA cloning at the National Institute of Genetics. Shinozaki determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the tobacco chloroplast genome in 1986 and later focused on Arabidopsis functional genomics and reverse genetics approaches. He used transgenic technology to analyze transcriptional regulation of plant nuclear genes and discovered important genes involved in plant responses to drought, cold, and heat. Shinozaki identified a cis-acting element, DRE, and the transcription factor DREB, and discovered ABA-independent regulatory systems in plant response to drought stress. He led the RIKEN Plant Science Center and the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, and his research accomplishments include the discovery of key regulatory genes and factors, such as DREBs, AREBs, MAPKs, and SnRK2s, and the identification of an osmosensor, AtHK1, and key genes affecting ABA regulation during drought responses.