1. Antiviral resistance mechanisms of plants and the evolution

Plants are threatened by infections of various pathogens including fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Among the diseases caused by plant pathogens, those caused by viral pathogens are especially difficult to control in crop fields, due to the lack of pesticides that directly inhibit viral infections. I study R-gene-mediated antiviral resistance in land plants from the view point of molecule and evolution, through a combined approach of molecular biology and mathematical modeling. The ultimate aim of this study is to develop sustainable methods to control plant viruses in crop fields.

Selected publications:
Abebe et al., Plant death caused by inefficient induction of antiviral R-gene-mediated resistance may function as a suicidal population resistance mechanism, Commun Biol (2021)

2. Development of antiviral strategies targeting social aspects in viral ways of life

High mutation rates in viral genome replication continuously cause co-existence of viral variants in each intracellular population. I have shown that the members of such intracellular viral population exhibit social behaviors including cooperation, betrayal, and formation of rules. Social aspects in viral ways of life can be good targets of developing antiviral strategies by human beings, because viruses seem to maintain delicate systems that could be easily affected by artificial perturbation. To develop such novel strategies for controlling plant viruses, I study the social systems of plant viruses and the molecular mechanisms behind them.

Selected publications:

Miyashita et al., Viruses roll the dice: the stochastic behavior of viral genome molecules accelerates viral adaptation at the cell and tissue levels, PLOS Biol (2015)