Report of Dr. Minako Isoda (Short term expert)
Here is a report of Dr. Minako Isoda (Kyoto Univ).
Overview
From December 11th to 22nd, 2023, a practical training session using duckweed was conducted at Kasetsart University in Thailand. Approximately 10 students and postdocs participated, actively engaging in the experiments through enthusiastic question-and-answer sessions and discussions. This training enabled participants to learn new methods in Thai duckweed research and deepen their knowledge about duckweed.
Training Content
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1
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Flower Induction by Salicylic Acid
Flowering of duckweed from Thailand in natural conditions is rare, and even in laboratory conditions, flowering induction was not confirmed with photoperiod conditions alone. Salicylic acid is known to promote flowering induction in duckweed. In this experiment, duckweed was cultivated in media with varying concentrations of salicylic acid to test for flowering induction. No flowers were observed two weeks after salicylic acid addition, but in the third week, flowering of Spirodela polyrhiza from Thailand was confirmed. This was an important result in determining the flowering induction conditions for the challenging duckweed from Thailand. -
2
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Salt Tolerance Experiment
In this experiment, duckweed was grown in media with varying NaCl concentrations for a week, and the area of duckweed was measured to determine which species (strains) were more salt-tolerant. The area measurement used an ImageJ macro for automatic measurement from photographs. Selecting salt-tolerant strains is a step towards developing environmentally stress-resistant duckweed. It is expected that applying this method will enable efficient selection of duckweed strains resistant to various environmental stresses.
Seminar
Title: "Interspecific Divergence of Circadian Properties in Duckweed"
On December 19th, I presented that the circadian clock properties of duckweed vary among species and genera, with species primarily inhabiting low-latitude areas showing unstable circadian rhythms. About 15 participants attended the seminar, engaging in various discussions. In particular, the discussion on how duckweed from Thailand might have adapted its circadian rhythm to the unique environment of low-latitude regions broadened our academic perspectives.
