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Forest Chemistry Lab
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A lab that explores the breakdown and synthesis of wood components using enzymes from wood-decaying fungi.
AboutAbout the lab
Breaking down and building wood components with mushroom enzymes.
The Forest Chemistry Lab studies the degradation and synthesis of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the components of wood.
The lab mainly carries out its research using enzymes from wood-decaying fungi, which cause wood to rot.
Cellulose is the most abundant biomass on Earth, but much remains unknown about how fungi break it down.
By clarifying how this degradation occurs in nature, the lab explores ideas for extracting energy and useful substances from biomass.
Key terms
- Wood-decaying fungi
- Fungi that break down wood and use it as nutrition, causing it to rot. Many of them are mushroom-forming fungi.
- Enzyme
- A protein made by living organisms that drives chemical reactions. Enzymes help break down and synthesize substances.
- Crystal structure analysis
- A method that directs X-rays or other beams at a crystal to determine the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within a molecule.
NewsLab news
A master's student won a Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Applied Glycoscience
Prof. Igarashi and colleagues won the Journal of Wood Science Paper Award
A master's student won a Poster Award at the Cellulase Research Meeting
A doctoral student won a Poster Award at the Enzyme Engineering Research Meeting lecture session
Atomic-level elucidation of enzyme-guided cellulose self-assembly mechanism
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the degradation and synthesis of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the components of wood, mainly using enzymes from wood-decaying fungi. It aims to clarify how cellulose is broken down in nature and to apply that understanding to ideas for converting biomass into energy and useful substances.
*Illustrative imageConverting biomass with enzymes
Using enzymes that degrade plant cell walls, the lab develops systems for extracting energy and useful substances from biomass.
*Illustrative imageExploring enzymes through mushroom genomes
Using genome information from basidiomycetes (the group of fungi that includes mushrooms) that decay wood, the lab analyzes the genes of enzymes that break down wood components.
*Illustrative imageProducing large amounts of enzymes in yeast
Using expression systems that make yeast produce a target protein, the lab produces large quantities of biomass-converting enzymes found in basidiomycetes.
*Illustrative imageThe relationship between enzyme structure and function
Using crystal structure analysis with X-rays and neutrons, the lab examines the three-dimensional structures of biomass-converting enzymes and seeks to clarify the relationship between their structure and function.
MembersFaculty
The Forest Chemistry Lab's members consist of faculty, a collaborating professor from NARO, researchers (including postdocs), and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKiyohiko IgarashiPublications ↗
- LecturerNaoki SunagawaPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
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Biomaterial Science LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Bio-based Materials ChemistryElucidating mechanisms through mathematical modeling and sim…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Trametes versicolor 2025 G1” George Chernilevsky / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Converting biomass with enzymes: “Range Fuels plant USDA” Alice Welch, U.S. Department of Agriculture / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Exploring enzymes through mushroom genomes: “Fungus on rotting wood, Sunny Vale, Southowram - geograph.org.uk - 6838838” Humphrey Bolton / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Producing large amounts of enzymes in yeast: “Pichia pastoris (Zhang 2017)” Jianguo Zhang and Taiyu Liu / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The relationship between enzyme structure and function: “Cellulase 1JS4” B.T.Riley / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (セルロース化学研究室
（磯貝特別研究室） ): “Cotton boll nearly ready for harvest” Michael Bass-Deschenes(Commons User Mike Bass-Deschênes) / CC BY 2.0 (cropped) - Related lab (木材化学研究室): “Pine log cross-sections, Teutendorf” Radomianin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高分子材料学研究室): “BiodegradablePlasticUtensils2” Scott Bauer / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (生物素材科学研究室): “Exposed roots - geograph.org.uk - 1615271” Richard Webb / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
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