With support from government, academia, and industry, we aim to transform agricultural resilience on a global scale, contributing to a stable food supply, environmental health, and societal well-being.
5
Countries
129
Members
6
Aims
16
Institutions
Who We Are
Our mission is to discover bioactive compounds that enhance plant and soil health while engaging industry partners and stakeholders to co-develop technology, promote sustainability, and build public trust. Through international collaboration, C-SPIRIT will train future leaders in the bioeconomy and green agriculture sectors, creating resilient systems that support the world’s food supply.
Breaking News
New Publication from Nagoya University and RIKEN CSRS!
August 10th, 2026
Congratulations to C-SPIRIT members Yuki Hayashi, Toshinori Kinoshita, Farhan Aziz, and Motoaki Seki as well as their collaborators on their new publication “Synthetic ion channel inhibitors enhance plant drought tolerance” in Nature Communications! The researchers identified two compounds, NS5806 and UA49, that inhibit potassium ion channels in guard cells, promoting stomatal closure and increasing drought resistance in Arabidopsis. The compounds also reduced potassium levels and increased calcium signaling in guard cells through a pathway distinct from the well-known abscisic acid (ABA) response. These findings highlight the potential of targeting plant ion channels as a strategy for improving drought tolerance and developing new tools to support crop resilience under water-limited conditions. Click here to read the full article!
New Publication from RIKEN CSRS!
August 4th, 2026
Congratulations to C-SPIRIT members Minoru Ueda and Motoaki Seki as well as their collaborators on the publication of their new article “HDA19-mediated deacetylation of histone H3.3 at lysines 27 and 36 regulates plant sensitivity to salt stress” in PNAS! The researchers identified a previously unknown histone modification involved in regulating salt tolerance in Arabidopsis and connected HDA19 activity with the expression and accumulation of LEA proteins that support plant survival under salinity stress. By clarifying how epigenetic regulation shapes plant stress responses, this work contributes to the broader search for strategies that can strengthen crop resilience under changing environmental conditions. Click here to read the full article!
C-SPIRIT 