Current Affiliation Organization 【 display / non-display 】

Current Affiliation Organization 【 display / non-display 】

External Career 【 display / non-display 】

External Career 【 display / non-display 】

Research Interests 【 display / non-display 】

Research Interests 【 display / non-display 】

Research Areas 【 display / non-display 】

Research Areas 【 display / non-display 】

Published Papers 【 display / non-display 】

Published Papers 【 display / non-display 】

• The second decade of the blue butterfly in Fukushima: Untangling the ecological field effects after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

  Otaki JM, Sakauchi K, Taira W

  Integrated environmental assessment and management ( Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management )  18 ( 6 ) 1539 - 1550   2022.11 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  • Access this article
    DOI
  • Search related information
    PubMed

• Ingestional Toxicity of Radiation-Dependent Metabolites of the Host Plant for the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly: A Mechanism of Field Effects of Radioactive Pollution in Fukushima.

  Morita A, Sakauchi K, Taira W, Otaki JM

  Life (Basel, Switzerland) ( Life )  12 ( 5 )   2022.04 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  • Access this article
    DOI
  • Search related information
    PubMed

• Metabolomic Profiles of the Creeping Wood Sorrel Oxalis corniculata in Radioactively Contaminated Fields in Fukushima: Dose-Dependent Changes in Key Metabolites.

  Sakauchi K, Taira W, Otaki JM

  Life (Basel, Switzerland) ( Life )  12 ( 1 )   2022.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  　View Summary

  The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident, in 2011, on wildlife have been studied in many organisms, including the pale grass blue butterfly and its host plant, the creeping wood sorrel Oxalis corniculata. Here, we performed an LC-MS-based metabolomic analysis on leaves of this plant collected in 2018 from radioactively contaminated and control localities in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Niigata prefectures, Japan. Using 7967 peaks detected by LC-MS analysis, clustering analyses showed that nine Fukushima samples and one Miyagi sample were clustered together, irrespective of radiation dose, while two Fukushima (Iitate) and two Niigata samples were not in this cluster. However, 93 peaks were significantly different (FDR < 0.05) among the three dose-dependent groups based on background, low, and high radiation dose rates. Among them, seven upregulated and 15 downregulated peaks had single annotations, and their peak intensity values were positively and negatively correlated with ground radiation dose rates, respectively. Upregulated peaks were annotated as kudinoside D (saponin), andrachcinidine (alkaloid), pyridoxal phosphate (stress-related activated vitamin B6), and four microbe-related bioactive compounds, including antibiotics. Additionally, two peaks were singularly annotated and significantly upregulated (K1R1H1; peptide) or downregulated (DHAP(10:0); decanoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate) most at the low dose rates. Therefore, this plant likely responded to radioactive pollution in Fukushima by upregulating and downregulating key metabolites. Furthermore, plant-associated endophytic microbes may also have responded to pollution, suggesting their contributions to the stress response of the plant.

  • Access this article
    DOI
  • Search related information
    PubMed

• A new perspective on the evolution of "Kawara" roof tiles in Ryukyu: A multidisciplinary non-destructive analysis of roof tile transition at Shuri Castle, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

  Aoyama H, Yamagiwa K, Taira W, Kon T

  PloS one ( PLoS ONE )  17 ( 11 ) e0277560   2022 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  • Access this article
    DOI
  • Search related information
    PubMed

• Metabolomic Response of the Creeping Wood Sorrel Oxalis corniculata to Low-Dose Radiation Exposure from Fukushima's Contaminated Soil.

  Sakauchi K, Taira W, Otaki JM

  Life (Basel, Switzerland) ( Life )  11 ( 9 )   2021.09 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  　View Summary

  The biological consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident have been intensively studied using the pale grass blue butterfly Zizeeria maha and its host plant, the creeping wood sorrel Oxalis corniculata. Here, we performed metabolomic analyses of Oxalis leaves from Okinawa to examine the plant metabolites that were upregulated or downregulated in response to low-dose radiation exposure from Fukushima's contaminated soil. The cumulative dose of radiation to the plants was 5.7 mGy (34 μGy/h for 7 days). The GC-MS analysis revealed a systematic tendency of downregulation among the metabolites, some of which were annotated as caproic acid, nonanoic acid, azelaic acid, and oleic acid. Others were annotated as fructose, glucose, and citric acid, involved in the carbohydrate metabolic pathways. Notably, the peak annotated as lauric acid was upregulated. In contrast, the LC-MS analysis detected many upregulated metabolites, some of which were annotated as either antioxidants or stress-related chemicals involved in defense pathways. Among them, only three metabolite peaks had a single annotation, one of which was alfuzosin, an antagonist of the α1-adrenergic receptor. We conclude that this Oxalis plant responded metabolically to low-dose radiation exposure from Fukushima's contaminated soil, which may mediate the ecological "field effects" of the developmental deterioration of butterflies in Fukushima.

  • Access this article
    DOI
  • Search related information
    PubMed

display all >>

Other Papers 【 display / non-display 】

Other Papers 【 display / non-display 】

• Rdioactive contamination effects on the pale grass blue

  Wataru Taira

  THE JAPAN BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION SOCIETY NEWSLETTER   ( 26 ) 10 - 17   2018.07

   

Presentations 【 display / non-display 】

Presentations 【 display / non-display 】

• Both laboratory work and field work are required to understand the pale grass blue butterfly in Fukushima: a possibility of field effects to be considered.

  Taira W, Sakauchi K, Toki M, Yamashito Y, Grung R, Otaki J

  1900.01  -  1900.01