Misato Kawai: Plant Physiology First Author

Misato Kawai, first author of “Regulation of ammonium acquisition and use in Oryza longistaminata ramets under nitrogen source heterogeneity”

Current Position: Admatechs Co. Ltd. R&D division

Education: Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University

Non-scientific Interests:  A hobby of mine is brass band music. I belong to a band for business people, and I play the euphonium. We practice on weekends for the concerts we have two or three times a year. I often go to other groups’ concerts. My other hobbies include eating sweets, shopping, playing smartphone games (Pokemon Go!).

Brief bio:

I graduated from the Ichinomiya High School, Aichi prefecture. I decided to go to the School of Agriculture because I found biology classes the most interesting, and I entered the Nagoya University. During my studies, I became interested in plants, and I chose the laboratory for Plant Signaling (PI, prof. H. Sakakibara). I started to study the mechanism of inter-ramet signaling in Oryza longistaminata. I chose the research topic because I was interested in the characteristics of its vegetative reproduction and the fact that it is not a model plant and much is still unknown about it. I had a hard time setting up experimental systems because O. longistaminata is an asexually-propagating plant that cannot start the growth from seeds, making it difficult to precisely unify developmental stages and physiological conditions. However, I was finally able to proceed with various experiments, and obtained interesting knowledge on the molecular level about the inter-ramet nitrogen signaling via rhizome. In the laboratory, I learned many things, such as various analytical methods, how to write papers, and how to present them in a logical and easy-to-understand manner.

Over the past three years, while growing O. longistaminata in the greenhouse and conducting research, I have gradually come to understand O. longistaminata and feel as if I have become friends with it.

Now, I work at a chemical company developing inorganic fillers for semiconductor encapsulation materials. Although this is a field not related to plants, I am working hard every day to be active in a new field, making use of the tips I learned in my graduate school days on how to conduct research and how to make presentations that are easy to understand.