World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Motoaki Seki

Motoaki Seki

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Genetics
Japan
2026
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Plant Science and Agronomy
Japan
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
122
Citations
68728
World Ranking
57
National Ranking
4

Genetics

D-Index
122
Citations
68195
World Ranking
345
National Ranking
8

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Genetics in Japan Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Japan Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Genetics in Japan Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics in Japan Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Genetics in Japan Leader Award

Overview

Motoaki Seki is affiliated with RIKEN in Japan and has contributed extensively to the fields of Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Their research primarily focuses on Plant Science and Molecular Biology, with notable work also in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Insect Science, and Endocrinology.

The scientist's recent papers cover a variety of topics related to plant biology and stress responses. Selected publications include:

  • "Cassava breeding and agronomy in Asia: 50 years of history and future directions" (2020, Breeding Science)
  • "A high-resolution single-molecule sequencing-based Arabidopsis transcriptome using novel methods of Iso-seq analysis" (2022, Genome biology)
  • "Advances in Chemical Priming to Enhance Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants" (2020, Plant and Cell Physiology)
  • "Comparative functional analyses of DWARF14 and KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 in drought adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana" (2020, The Plant Journal)
  • "Defective cytokinin signaling reprograms lipid and flavonoid gene-to-metabolite networks to mitigate high salinity in Arabidopsis" (2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

Frequent co-authors associated with Motoaki Seki include:

  • Maho Tanaka
  • Yoshinori Utsumi
  • Akihiro Matsui
  • Satoshi Takahashi
  • Daisuke Todaka

Seki has published multiple papers in various scientific venues. Among the frequent publication venues are:

  • Plant Molecular Biology
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Plant and Cell Physiology
  • The Plant Journal
  • PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

The main topics of Motoaki Seki's research include:

  • Plant Molecular Biology Research
  • Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance
  • Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
  • Cassava research and cyanide
  • Plant responses to water stress
  • Plant Parasitism and Resistance
  • Plant and animal studies

Best Publications

  • Arabidopsis AtMYC2 (bHLH) and AtMYB2 (MYB) Function as Transcriptional Activators in Abscisic Acid Signaling

    Hiroshi Abe;Takeshi Urao;Takuya Ito;Motoaki Seki

  • Regulatory network of gene expression in the drought and cold stress responses.

    Kazuo Shinozaki;Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki;Motoaki Seki

  • Monitoring the expression profiles of 7000 Arabidopsis genes under drought, cold and high-salinity stresses using a full-length cDNA microarray.

    Motoaki Seki;Mari Narusaka;Junko Ishida;Tokihiko Nanjo

  • OsDREB genes in rice, Oryza sativa L., encode transcription activators that function in drought‐, high‐salt‐ and cold‐responsive gene expression

    Joseph G. Dubouzet;Yoh Sakuma;Yusuke Ito;Mie Kasuga

  • Isolation and Functional Analysis of Arabidopsis Stress-Inducible NAC Transcription Factors That Bind to a Drought-Responsive cis-Element in the early responsive to dehydration stress 1 Promoter

    Lam Son Phan Tran;Kazuo Nakashima;Yoh Sakuma;Sean D. Simpson

  • Regulation of drought tolerance by gene manipulation of 9‐cis‐epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, a key enzyme in abscisic acid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

    Satoshi Iuchi;Masatomo Kobayashi;Teruaki Taji;Masaaki Naramoto

  • Monitoring the Expression Pattern of 1300 Arabidopsis Genes under Drought and Cold Stresses by Using a Full-Length cDNA Microarray

    Motoaki Seki;Mari Narusaka;Hiroshi Abe;Mie Kasuga

  • Functional Analysis of an Arabidopsis Transcription Factor, DREB2A, Involved in Drought-Responsive Gene Expression

    Yoh Sakuma;Kyonoshin Maruyama;Yuriko Osakabe;Feng Qin

  • Important roles of drought- and cold-inducible genes for galactinol synthase in stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Teruaki Taji;Chieko Ohsumi;Satoshi Iuchi;Motoaki Seki

  • Monitoring Expression Profiles of Rice Genes under Cold, Drought, and High-Salinity Stresses and Abscisic Acid Application Using cDNA Microarray and RNA Gel-Blot Analyses

    M. Ashiq Rabbani;Kyonoshin Maruyama;Hiroshi Abe;M. Ayub Khan

  • Identification of CRE1 as a cytokinin receptor from Arabidopsis

    Tsutomu Inoue;Masayuki Higuchi;Yukari Hashimoto;Motoaki Seki

  • AREB1 Is a Transcription Activator of Novel ABRE-Dependent ABA Signaling That Enhances Drought Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis

    Yasunari Fujita;Miki Fujita;Rie Satoh;Kyonoshin Maruyama

  • Functional Analysis of Rice DREB1/CBF-type Transcription Factors Involved in Cold-responsive Gene Expression in Transgenic Rice

    Yusuke Ito;Koji Katsura;Kyonoshin Maruyama;Teruaki Taji

  • Engineered CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease with expanded targeting space

    Hiroshi Nishimasu;Xi Shi;Xi Shi;Soh Ishiguro;Soh Ishiguro;Linyi Gao;Linyi Gao

  • A dehydration‐induced NAC protein, RD26, is involved in a novel ABA‐dependent stress‐signaling pathway

    Miki Fujita;Yasunari Fujita;Kyonoshin Maruyama;Motoaki Seki

  • Regulatory metabolic networks in drought stress responses.

    Motoaki Seki;Taishi Umezawa;Kaoru Urano;Kazuo Shinozaki

  • Empirical analysis of transcriptional activity in the Arabidopsis genome.

    Kayoko Yamada;Jun Lim;Joseph M. Dale;Huaming Chen;Huaming Chen

  • NAC Transcription Factors, NST1 and NST3, Are Key Regulators of the Formation of Secondary Walls in Woody Tissues of Arabidopsis

    Nobutaka Mitsuda;Akira Iwase;Hiroyuki Yamamoto;Masato Yoshida

  • In planta functions of the Arabidopsis cytokinin receptor family

    Masayuki Higuchi;Melissa S. Pischke;Ari Pekka Mähönen;Kaori Miyawaki

  • The NAC Transcription Factors NST1 and NST2 of Arabidopsis Regulate Secondary Wall Thickenings and Are Required for Anther Dehiscence

    Nobutaka Mitsuda;Motoaki Seki;Kazuo Shinozaki;Masaru Ohme-Takagi

  • Monitoring Expression Profiles of Rice Genes under Cold, Drought, and High-Salinity Stresses and Abscisic Acid Application Using cDNA Microarray and RNA

    M. Ashiq Rabbani;Kyonoshin Maruyama;Hiroshi Abe;M. Ayub Khan

Frequent Co-Authors

Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki
Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki University of Tokyo
Tetsuya Sakurai
Tetsuya Sakurai Kōchi University
Masatomo Kobayashi
Masatomo Kobayashi RIKEN BioResource Research Center
Mari Narusaka
Mari Narusaka National Institute for Basic Biology
Miki Fujita
Miki Fujita University of British Columbia
Minami Matsui
Minami Matsui Kihara Institute for Biological Research

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