Dr. Yasutaka Imamura, the head of the Higo Chabo Club, visited IRCMS to discuss collaboration on a stem cell biology-based conservation project

June 10 2024

On May 31, 2024, Dr. Yasutaka Imamura, the head of the Higo Chabo Club, visited IRCMS, Kumamoto University. Dr. Imamura (second from right) is the head of Higo Chabo Club, a conservation advocacy group aimed at raising awareness of and conserving several unique Kumamoto local chicken breeds. We learned a lot from him when he visited us to discuss collaboration in stem cell biology-based conservation project, followed by a fun social gathering in our institute. Higo Chabo, a natural monument of Japan, is a Japanese Bantam breed with a deletion mutation (Creeper) affecting indian hedgehog gene and non homologous end-joining factor 1 gene, leading to chondrodystrophy and embryonic lethality. Higo Chabo Club also promotes conservation of Amakusa Daio (a breed with robust statue reaching 90 cm in height, once extinct but now revived) and Kureko Dori. The latter is a natural monument of Kumamoto prefecture, and its tail feathers are used for an ancient traditional dance called Kureko Kodai Odori, an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Japan.