A research group led by Professor Asahina of the Faculty of Faculty of Science and Engineering discovered that amphibious plants differentiate chloroplasts in their epidermal cells in response to submergenceUtsunomiya Campus

A research group led by Professor Masashi Asahina Department of Integrated Science and Engineering Environment and Biotechnology Course Faculty of Science and Engineering Science and Technology, Teikyo University, has discovered a previously unreported environmental response in the amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica: differentiation of chloroplasts in epidermal cells in response to submersion. The research team named this phenomenon "environmentally responsive epidermal chloroplast differentiation (ECD)." ECD is triggered in response to signals specific to the aquatic environment and is thought to be useful for photosynthesis using carbon dioxide that enters the tissue through the epidermis underwater.
The results of this research not only shed light on part of the mechanism by which plants adapt to water environments, but may also contribute to the development of crops that are resistant to flooding and inundation, as well as to understanding plant survival strategies under climate change.

This research was published in the international academic journal New Phytologist on February 18, 2026.

Click here for details of the press release
For more information about Professor Asahina, click here

To the topic List