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Which of the following insects was identified as the vector of the pathogen that caused the rice stripe disease, which began to occur in paddy fields throughout the Kanto region around the Meiji 30 (1897) and caused significant damage to farmers?



1. Laodelphax striatellus 2. Nephotettix cincticeps 3. Sogatella furcifera



The correct answer can be found in the third chapter of this book, 'The Discovery of the Vector Insect by Technician Kuribayashi Kazue: Section 1. Rice Stripe Disease is a 'Stunting Disease' Mediated by Insects'.

Rice farming in Japan in the 1960s was in turmoil due to the outbreak of 'stripe disease', especially in the prefectures west of Kanto. The author, who started his research on viruses in this serious situation, encountered the Rice Stripe Virus, which is the cause of stripe disease, in his research. What is a virus, and what kind of drama did the virus cause behind the major outbreak of stripe disease? This book is a history of plant virus research, in which the author, who has been researching plant viruses for many years, describes the path to the elucidation of the stripe disease-causing virus, along with questions about the mysterious life form, the virus.



［Contents］

INTRODUCTION

References

PART 1 THE SUDDEN EPIDEMIC OF RICE STRIPE BLIGHT AND VECTOR SMALL BROWN PLANTHOPPER

PART 2 ODD RNA VIRUSES: RICE STRIPE VIRUS

POSTSCRIPT

ADDENDUM

REVALUATION OF KANZO TAKADA'S PAPER ""RICE DWARF DISEASE TEST RESULTS"" (1895)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR



［Comment from the person in charge］

The main theme of this book is the Rice Stripe Virus, but beneath it is a question about the mysterious life form, the virus. We are exposed to the threat of viruses, but we hope you will also turn your eyes to the various mysteries and wonders that arise when we see a virus not just as the origin of a disease, but as a life form.



［About the Author］

Shigemitsu Toriyama



Born in 1939. Originally from Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture. Graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture. A doctor of Agriculture.

1968-1986: Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo (Research Assistant); 1977-1978, Studied at Agricultural University, Wageningen (Dept. Virology), The Netherlands.

1986-2000: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (Environmental Biology Department, Senior Researcher).

2001-2009: Faculty of Agriculture, Meiji University (Part-time lecturer); In charge of introduction to virology, plant virology, and graduate school special course.

Main research achievements: “Taxonomic study of viral diseases and viruses in rice plants”, ”Plant Rhabdoviruses and Transcriptional Enzymes'', ”Fundamental studies on the purification and pathogenicity of rice stripe virus”, ”RNA polymerase associated with filamentous particles of rice stripe virus”, ”Genome analysis of Japanese tenuiviruses; phylogenetic relationships among viruses of the genus Tenuivirus”, ”Genetic Recombinant Rice Production (Collaborative Research)”, etc. In 1999, received the Phytopathological Society of Japan Award.