Takuro Shinano

Hokkaido University | Hokudai · Research Faculty of Agriculture

Cs diffused into the environment due to a nuclear power plant accident has caused serious problems for safe crop production. In plants, Cs⁺ is similar in its ionic form to K⁺. Cs⁺ is absorbed and transported mainly by the K⁺ transport mechanism. However, the full picture of the genes contributing to Cs⁺ transport and the transport mechanism of rice...

X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD) is an effective technique for identifying and quantifying mineral types in soil. However, few studies have compared quantitative values based on XRPD with those from conventional wet chemical methods (WCMs). Here, we determined the primary mineral content in artificial mineral mixtures and 79 agricultural soils from...

Resuming crop production in physically decontaminated fields affected by radiocesium (134Cs and 137Cs) releases is crucial for restoring impacted areas. However, surface soil excavation to reduce radiocesium may lead to lower crop yield due to the loss of fertile topsoil. This study aimed to assess the effects of cattle manure compost (CMC) applica...

to elucidate the influence of F content on the plant availability of non-exchangeable K in the interlayers of these micas. Additionally, their effectiveness as soil amendments in reducing radiocesium uptake by paddy rice was investigated. Chemical analysis confirmed that all micas were potassium trioctahedral type, whilst F content varied between 0...

In surrounding areas influenced by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the radiocesium uptake by crops was evaluated based on soil exchangeable K. As risk evaluation does not function effectively in several fields, K buffering was characterized using quantity/intensity (Q/I) relationship analysis to evaluate the availability of exc...

Radiocesium dynamics data during food processing are required for the realistic estimation of internal radiation content in food. Radiocesium contamination of leafy vegetables can occur externally due to the adhesion of fallout and/or resuspension from the air, and internally from soil via the root transport. Information regarding the dynamics of b...

 Background and Aims The abundance or decline of fern populations in response to environmental change has been found to be largely dependent on specific physiological properties that distinguish ferns from angiosperms. Many studies have focused on water use efficiency and stomatal behaviors, but the effects of nutrition acquirement and utilization...

Nutrient status of plant affects root exudates of plant. Little is known about effect of potassium status on root exudation. Objective of this study was to identify metabolites in rhizosphere soil of soybean under different potassium conditions. Two soybean cultivars (Satonohohoemi (SAT) and Tachinagaha (TAC)) were grown in soil culture under low (...

After the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, radioactive cesium (RCs) was released in greater concentrations than radioactive strontium (RSr) in the surrounding environment. Most of the countermeasures were developed to mitigate the RCs transfer from the soil to plants. However, to avoid what has...

To evaluate the effectiveness of potassium (K) application in mitigating¹³⁷Cs transfer from soil to plants, several vegetable species were cultivated under field and pot experiments. In the field experiment, squash, sweet potato, turnip, potato, and carrot were examined in 2020 and 2021 in two different areas of Hamadori (coastal region in Fukushim...

To mitigate radioactive cesium from soil to plant, increasing and maintaining the exchangeable potassium (ExK) level during growth is widely accepted after Tokyo Electric Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant accident in Japan. This is because the antagonistic relationship between soil solution K and ¹³⁴Cs + ¹³⁷Cs (RCs) concentrations changes...

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for crop production; however, availability tends to be low due to slow diffusion and high fixation in soils. To cope with phosphate deficiency, white lupines (Lupinus albus L.) form unique root structures called cluster roots. The objective of this study was to elucidate detailed spatial differences of the mec...

Lupinus albus L. (lupin) has a high tolerance for phosphorus deficient conditions as its roots can solubilize the unavailable phosphorus in the rhizosphere soil. The roots may also be able to solubilize other elements, but this requires further investigation. In this study, therefore, we conducted two experiments to comprehensively investigate the...

In the present study, we conducted experiments using wheat to elucidate whether the increased accumulation of molybdenum in leaves under nitrogen deficiency is due to the plant’s own metabolic response, and further to estimate the role of molybdenum in the nitrogen deficiency response. Even under different growth conditions such as soil culture, hy...

Ionomic profiles are primarily influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Identifying ionomic responses to varietal effects is necessary to understand the ionomic variations among species or subspecies and to potentially understand genetic effects on ionomic profiles. We cultivated 120 rice (Oryza sativa) varieties to seedling stage in identi...

Low transfer of radioactive cesium (radiocesium) from soil to grains of agricultural crops is desirable to ensure food safety for humans and animals. Although the transfer of radiocesium from soil to grains is higher in upland crops such as soybean (Glycine max L.) than in paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.), little information related to the specific dif...

The Tokyo Electric Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident contaminated a large area of agricultural land with radioactive cesium. If the contamination levels were high, topsoil removal or inversion tillage were the major countermeasures used to decrease the radioactivity of the soil. However, a substantial level of radioactive ce...

Aluminum (Al)-tolerant tobacco cell line ALT301 hardly exhibits Al-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, compared with wild-type line SL. Molecular mechanism leading to this phenotype was investigated comparatively with SL. Under normal growth condition, metabolome data suggested the activation of glycolysis and lactate fermentation b...

Field and pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of coarse Finnish phlogopite application to reduce radiocesium uptake by paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.). The application of phlogopite was expected to reduce radiocesium uptake by crops through K supply and radiocesium retention. Three fields were set in Fukushima Prefecture, and...

Fruit blossom-end rot (BER) is a serious physiological disorder that can cause significant yield losses in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Although many studies have suggested that calcium (Ca) deficiency in tomato fruits is a major factor for BER, its onset mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Ionomics is a high-throughput elemental profiling o...

In 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused severe damage on the TEPCO’s nuclear power plants in Fukushima prefecture. A large area of agricultural fields in Eastern Japan was suffered by substantial amount of radioactive materials (especially radiocesium) and tremendous efforts has been taken to remediate the contaminated fi...

We conducted a field experiment in soybean with different levels of K application to elucidate the comparative dynamics of 137 Cs and K. The inventory of K in the shoots increased substantially from the fifth trifoliate stage to the full seed stage, and as the absorption of K increased, so too did the absorption of 137 Cs. Overall, the effect of K...

The Tohoku region is about 210 km east to west and 510 km north to south, with the Ohu Mountains and the Nasu Volcanic in the central area, the Kitakami and Abukuma Mountains on the east, and the Dewa Mountains and Chokai Volcano on the west. Therefore, because the Sea of Japan side and the Pacific side is divided into the mountainous backbone, the...

The Tohoku region is about 210 km east to west and 510 km north to south, with the Ohu Mountains and the Nasu Volcanic in the central area, the Kitakami and Abukuma Mountains on the east, and the Dewa Mountains and Chokai Volcano on the west. Therefore, because the Sea of Japan side and the Pacific side is divided into the mountainous backbone, the...

Will be a chapter iu a book published as The Soils of Japan.

Aims Root exudates of soybean grown under low-, normal-, and high-K⁺ conditions were evaluated using metabolomics. Methods Two soybean cultivars, ‘Satonohohoemi’ (low-K-tolerant) and ‘Tachinagaha’ (low-K sensitive), were hydroponically grown with 6 (K6), 60 (K60), and 120 (K120) mg K L⁻¹ for 7 and 14 days after transplanting (DAT). Root exudates w...

Most of environmental monitoring programs include measurements of the air dose rates and the radionuclides activity concentration in plants. Both these parameters depend on deposition density of radionuclides. Therefore, measurements of one parameter can (with some supplementary information) be used as an indicator for the other parameter. After th...

Data on reduction of radioactivity in plants are highly important for making decision on emergency response and remediation of contaminated areas. Dynamics of the ¹³¹I and ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in the weed leaves sampled in the areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in Japan was assessed for the period March–Dec...

Most available measurement methods and protocols for radioactive materials are focused on the use of high-precision sampling and analysis and do not consider the practicality of these techniques in the case of large-scale emergencies involving high numbers of samples and measurements. The experience gained after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power...

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, immediate soil and vegetation sampling were conducted according to the action plan of nuclear emergency monitoring; however, analysing the monitoring dataset was difficult because the sampling protocols were not standardised. In this study, the sampling protocols applied just after t...

The measurement of radioactivity in food and agricultural ecosystems is an essential task for keeping the population safe after a nuclear emergency. Prior to the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011, the probability of such an accident, combining complex effects of natural and technical fact...

The release of rhizodeposits differs depending on the root position and is closely related to the assimilated carbon (C) supply. Therefore, quantifying the C partitioning over a short period may provide crucial information for clarifying root–soil carbon metabolism. A non-invasive method for visualising the translocation of recently assimilated C i...

Prediction model to estimate brown rice RCs concentration by the seedlings using different soils

To mitigate the contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, many agricultural fields in Fukushima Prefecture were treated mainly by topsoil removal and potassium application. Both countermeasures sufficiently reduced the level of radiocaesium contamination in agricultural products. This paper describes the situation five...

The behavior of radiocesium in wild animal meats upon cooking was investigated. The ratio of the concentration change (processing factor, Pf), remaining ratio (food processing retention factor, Fr), and removal ratio of radiocesium in the meats by grilling, boiling, and steaming were determined. Differences in cooking methods, rather than differenc...

Decreasing the transfer of radioactive cesium (RCs) from soil to crops has been important since the deposition of RCs in agricultural soil owing to the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident of 2011. We investigated the genotypic variation in RCs accumulation in 234 and 198 hexaploid wheat (Triticum spp.) varieties in an affected field in 2012 and...

To mitigate the contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, many agricultural fields in Fukushima Prefecture were treated mainly by topsoil removal and potassium application. Both countermeasures sufficiently reduced the level of radiocaesium contamination in agricultural products. This paper describes the situation five...

Eight years have passed since the radioactive caesium contamination of farmland, inland waters, and coastal waters mainly in Fukushima Prefecture, which originates from the TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. We summarized the past activities and the current situation, and countermeasures to be considered in the future. From ag...

Potassium (K) and radiocaesium (RCs) were chemically extracted from soils derived from granite (G soils) and sedimentary rock (S soils) in Fukushima, Japan. The extractants employed were 1 M HNO3, concentrated HNO3, and HF + HClO4. As S soils contain a lower amount of trioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates than G soils, the RCs/K ratio was higher in S s...

The time-dependence of 137Cs in new shoots of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) following a137Cs-deposition was analyzed and quantified in terms of effective half-lives. The underlying monitoring studies were performed after the accidents in the Chernobyl and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants for tea plants growing in Japan. The major tr...

We investigated changes for amounts of 14 elements involved in atmospheric pollution in rooftop turfs over the years. All elements concentrations of grasses in rooftop turfs increased after completion and amounts of al elements except for thallium (Tl) of grasses and organic layer increased with age. These results suggested that the deposit element...

In this mini review, the importance of rhizosphere is focused. As the rhizosphere is underneath the soil, the analytical approach is still required from the viewpoints of understanding the interaction among root, soil and its interface. For this purpose, multi omics approach has been carried out with the effort to visualize the active rhizosphere a...

We assessed the repeatability and reproducibility of methods for determining low dissolved radiocesium concentrations in freshwater in Fukushima. Twenty-one laboratories pre-concentrated three of 10 L samples by five different pre-concentration methods (Prussian-blue-impregnated filter cartridges, coprecipitation with ammonium phosphomolybdate, eva...

To investigate the main factors that control the dissolved radiocesium concentration in river water in the area affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, the correlations between the dissolved 137Cs concentrations at 66 sites normalized to the average 137Cs inventories for the watersheds with the land use, soil components, top...

This paper describes a rapid quantification method for radioactive strontium (⁹⁰Sr) in fresh foods (perishable foods) and has been comparatively evaluated with the common classical radiometric quantification method. Inductively coupled plasma–dynamic reaction cell-mass spectrometry with online solid-phase extraction (cascade-ICP–MS) rapidly determi...

We investigated changes for amounts of 14 elements involved in atmospheric pollution in rooftop turfs over the years. All elements concentrations of grasses in rooftop turfs increased after completion and amounts of all elements except for thallium (Tl) of grasses and organic layer increased with age. These results suggested that the deposite eleme...

Weathered micaceous minerals (micas) are able to release potassium ion (K +) and fix caesium-137 (137 Cs), both of which reduce soil-to-plant transfer of 137 Cs. Among micas, trioctahedral micas such as biotite is expected to have a stronger ability to supply nonexchangeable K + and a higher amount of Cs fixation sites than dioctahedral micas such...

We tested whether introducing an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-host plant with a reduced P application rate could maintain soybean seeds’ nutrients quality. The dynamic variation of 14 nutrients were analyzed in source and sink organs during seed-filling stage. The AMF-host and non-AMF-host plants, sunflower and mustard, were grown as precedin...

We studied microbe-plant interactions of white lupin, a cluster root-forming plant, under low P and N conditions to examine increased nutrient acquisition by plants either by a shift to a more specialized microbial community or changes in microbial enzyme production. White lupin plants were grown in rhizoboxes filled with either P- or N-deficient s...

Yamakiya District in the town of Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture, was evacuated after the nuclear accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in 2011. Since then, nuclear decontamination procedures have been applied to the surrounding environment, including agricultural fields. The decontamination procedure...

Background and aims Radiocesium uptake and accumulation in crops has been studied in Japan since the March 2011 nuclear power plant accident. However, few studies have reported how cesium (Cs) is distributed in aboveground parts and how it accumulates in edible parts. Here, we report the dynamics of Cs in aboveground parts of rice (Oryza sativa L.)...

To reduce radiocesium uptake by rice, large amounts of potassium fertilizer have been applied to paddy fields contaminated by radiocesium released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant owned by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. The Fukushima Prefectural Government recommended maintenance of the soil exchangeable K content up to 200 mg K k...

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami caused the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in Japan and released a large amount of radioactive materials (131I, 134Cs and 137Cs are of concern) to the agricultural products and fields. Evergreen plants (tea), winter crops (winter wheat,...

Increasing exchangeable potassium (ExK) content in soil to an appropriate level is important to mitigate the transfer of radioactive cesium to crops. We focused on a buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) field with a low ExK content, despite the application of K, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (Field A), following the Tokyo Electric Power Company...

Incidents at the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear power stations have resulted in widespread environmental contamination by radioactive nuclides. Among them, 137cesium has a 30 year half-life, and its persistence in soil raises serious food security issues. It is therefore important to prevent plants, especially crop plants, from absorbing radiocesi...

Incidents at the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear power stations have resulted in widespread environmental contamination by radioactive nuclides. Among them, 137cesium has a 30 year half-life, and its persistence in soil raises serious food security issues. It is therefore important to prevent plants, especially crop plants, from absorbing radiocesi...

The effect of soil exchangeable (plant-available) potassium (ExK) content on cesium (Cs) absorption and translocation in buckwheat was evaluated in a field contaminated with radioactive Cs (¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs, RCs) in 2013. The RCs concentration in buckwheat was significantly positively correlated with the naturally occurring stable Cs (¹³³Cs, SCs) co...

Glutathione and phytochelatins are sulfur containing compounds playing an important role in cadmium (Cd) detoxification. We examined the Cd-induced changes in the percentage of sulfur containing compounds to total sulfur in wild-type and sulfate transporter 1;2 knockout mutant, sel1–10. Cd treatment increased the proportion of sulfate and thiols in...

A large amount of radiocesium was released from the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company. The determination of dissolved and particulate radiocesium concentrations in water is important, which can be used as basic information for understanding the long-term radiocesium dynamics in the environment and the...

Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential nutrient for plants, and is required for nitrogenase activity of legumes. However, the pathways of Mo uptake from soils and then delivery to the nodules have not been characterized in legumes. In this study, we characterized a high-affinity Mo transporter (LjMOT1) from Lotus japonicus. Mo concentrations in an ethyl m...

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic and non-essential element for plants, whereas phytochelatins and glutathione are low-molecular-weight sulfur compounds that function as chelators and play important roles in detoxification. Cadmium exposure is known to induce the expression of sulfur-assimilating enzymes and sulfate uptake by roots. However, the molec...

Soil contains various essential and nonessential elements, all of which can be absorbed by plants. Plant ionomics is the study of the accumulation of these elements (the ionome) in plants. The ionomic profile of a plant is affected by various factors, including species, variety , organ, and environment. In this study, we cultivated various vegetabl...

Average mineral concentration (mg g-1) of each element in leaves of Komatsuna4 in 2011 and 2012. (PDF)

Chemical properties of the field soils used in this study. (PDF)

Mineral concentration (mg g-1) in edible or nonedible part of each cultivar. (XLSX)

Radioactive Cs contamination of vast area including crop land with a focus on TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011, still ask farmers to reduce the uptake of radioactive materials to the crops in the farmland even today. Several removal technologies from the paddy and upland soils, volume reduction of waste materials...

The relative distribution of 22 mineral elements in the roots, nodules and shoots of the soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv. Tsurumusume) at R1 (beginning of the flowering stage) and R7 (beginning of the mature stage) was investigated in response to ammonium and manure N treatment. Plants receiving only atmospheric nitrogen served as the negative con...

The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, caused the release of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), contaminating eastern Japan, particularly in part of Fukushima Prefecture. In 2012 and 2014, the radiocaesium concentration in brown rice did not exceed regulatory levels in Minamisoma City, Fukushima...

Despite a concentration of exchangeable K of >208 mg kg−1 dry weight in soil, the brown rice grown in Minamisoma City in 2013 had a higher concentration of radiocesium than the new Japanese standard (100 Bq kg−1) for food. To analyze the factors affecting the radiocesium concentration in brown rice, we carried out pot tests using paddy soil and irr...

This study assessed soil contamination with high radioactive cesium (R–Cs) concentration in buckwheat grains by lodging, and assessed the possibility of R–Cs reduction in grain through post-harvest preparation. Analysis of buckwheat grain produced in farmers’ fields and reports from farmers indicated that grain from fields that had lodging showed h...

In order to supply pleasant foods in ordinal dietary, improving crop quality by applying effective growth conditions is a desirable but challenging approach. In this study, to determine the sensory quality of mizuna (Brassica rapa L. var. Nipposinica), one of a Brassica leafy crops grown with different fertilizer application, GC–MS based hydrophili...

Ionomics is the study of elemental accumulation in living organisms using high-throughput elemental profiling. In the present study, we examined the ionomic responses to nutrient deficiency in maize grown in the field in long-term fertilizer trials. Furthermore, the available elements in the field soils were analyzed to investigate their changes un...

Low cadmium (Cd) transfer from the soil to edible parts of crop plants is important to minimize toxicity to humans and animals. We previously showed that Cd accumulation in grains differs substantially among varieties of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, we investigated the factors responsible for these differences by comparing th...