Research Support
SPIRITS

International base formation of new integrated plant sciences at Kyoto University, developed from the Kyoto ー Bristol Symposium

Project Gist

Formation of the international base where various fields of plant sciences are newly integrated at Kyoto University: from molecular botany to species botany

Keywords

botanical gardens, molecular botany, plant sciences, species botany, workshop organized by students

Background and Purpose

In January 2014, the 2nd Kyoto-Bristol symposium was held at Kyoto University. In the symposium, plant sciences session was carried out with more than 50 participants. In order to enhance the interests on plant sciences, Department of Botany at Kyoto University, together with the Center for Ecological Research, planned to establish the international base where the knowledge, methods and ideas of various fields of plant sciences, from molecular botany to species botany, are integrated to create new prospects of plant sciences. We aimed also at promoting the internationalism, cooperativeness and capacity for organization of our graduate school students through the international workshop, which was organized by the students themselves.

Project Achievements

In September 2014, we held the plant sciences workshop of the University of Bristol (UK) and Kyoto University (Japan) at Bristol. In the workshop, several new units of collaborative studies primarily on molecular botany were established. Also, in the workshop, we strengthened the relationships of laboratories primarily on species botany by concluding the partnership agreement between University of Bristol Botanic Garden and Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University.

In March 2016, we held the plant sciences workshop of not only Kyoto University and the University of Bristol but also Heidelberg University (Germany) at Kyoto. In this workshop, we tried to integrate the knowledge, methods and ideas of various fields from molecular botany to species botany. And, we attempted to enhance the internationalism, cooperativeness and capacity for organization of our graduate school students through this workshop, which was organized by the students themselves.

Future Prospects

The results of this project includes the integration of knowledge, methods and ideas of various fields from molecular botany to species botany at Kyoto University and the enhancement of internationalism, cooperativeness and capacity for organization of our graduate school students. In order to anchor these results to Department of Botany as well as Center for Ecological Research at Kyoto University, this project was followed by the new SPIRITS program, which is now being handled by Dr. Tomoo Shimada until March 2018.

Figure

Signing ceremony of the partnership agreement between University of Bristol Botanic Garden and Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University (at the University of Bristol in September, 2014)
Cover of the programme pamphlet of Kyoto-Bristol-Heidelberg Plant Sciences Workshop (at Kyoto University in March, 2016)

Principal Investigator

TAMURA Minoru N.

・TAMURA Minoru N.
・Graduate School of Science
・Professor of Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University. Chairman of the management committee of Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University. His main research interests include phylogeny and taxonomy of seed plants (especially of the monocotyledons). He is studying diversity and evolution of the monocotyledons by means of field survey, species description, morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetical analysis.