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Applied Microbiology Lab
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A lab that studies how the genes behind fungal toxins and enzymes work.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring mycotoxins and fermentation through fungal genes.
The Applied Microbiology Lab has studied how fungal genes function, using Fusarium, a type of fungus, as its research material.
Professor Makoto Kimura studied how the transcription of biosynthetic genes is activated for trichothecene, a mycotoxin produced by the fungus that causes Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley.
Assistant Professor Kazuyuki Maeda conducted basic research toward establishing a solid-state fermentation method that uses coffee grounds as a resource, employing a fermenting fungus with an excellent ability to break down polysaccharides.
Key terms
- Fusarium
- A group of fungi (filamentous fungi). It includes the fungus that causes Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley, while some species are used commercially as food fungi.
- Fusarium head blight of wheat and barley
- A cereal disease caused by Fusarium graminearum. It is difficult to control, and mycotoxins remain in the infected grains.
- Trichothecene
- A heat-stable mycotoxin produced by the fungus that causes Fusarium head blight. It threatens the health of people and livestock that consume it.
ResearchResearch themes
Using Fusarium as research material, the lab has studied how the transcription of fungal genes is regulated and how this leads to mycotoxin production and polysaccharide degradation. The research aims to obtain knowledge that helps reduce mycotoxin contamination and to establish methods for putting food waste to use through fermentation.
*Illustrative imageHow the Fusarium head blight fungus produces mycotoxins
The lab studied the roles of transcription factors such as Tri6, which is essential for the transcription of biosynthetic genes, in the production of trichothecene mycotoxins by the fungus that causes Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley. By analyzing how environmental factors such as the components of the culture medium and genetic factors affect the activation of transcription, the research aimed to obtain knowledge useful for reducing contamination.
*Illustrative imageTurning coffee grounds into a resource through fermentation
The lab conducted research toward establishing a solid-state fermentation method that turns coffee grounds, which are rich in polysaccharides, into a resource using a fermenting fungus, without physical or chemical pretreatment. The researchers created strains in which the xyr1 gene, thought to regulate the transcription of cell wall-degrading enzyme genes in Fusarium, was modified, and examined the effects on carbon source utilization and on the expression of enzyme genes.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Applied Microbiology Lab are faculty and PhD and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorMakoto Kimura
- Assistant ProfessorKazuyuki Maeda
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Geweihförmige Holzkeule - Staghorn fungus - Xylaria hypoxylon - 01” Norbert Nagel / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How the Fusarium head blight fungus produces mycotoxins: “Diseases of wheat, oats, barley, and rye ( )” Internet Archive Book Images / Public domain (cropped)
- Turning coffee grounds into a resource through fermentation: “Finely grounded coffee beans in white bowl” Alorin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biochemistry Lab): “Arabidopsis thaliana kz08” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Genome Information Function Lab): “Synechococcus cyanobacteria-cultures” Masur / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Bioorganic Chemistry Lab): “Rotary evaporator” Waag Society from Amsterdam, The Netherlands / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Cell Regulation Lab): “Calmodulin 1CLL” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
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