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Marine Environmental Microbiology Lab
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A lab that uses microbes to produce fuels and useful substances, and to probe the mysteries of life in the deep sea.
AboutAbout the lab
Manufacturing and environmental restoration, powered by microbes.
The Marine Environmental Microbiology Lab aims at microbe-based manufacturing, environmental restoration, and an understanding of the marine biosphere.
With the aim of returning research results to society, the lab works on producing materials such as biofuels with microorganisms, reducing carbon dioxide, and purifying water.
The lab also studies microorganisms living in extreme marine environments, such as hydrothermal vent fields on the deep seafloor around the world.
Undergraduates join the Marine Biological Science course in their third year and are assigned to this lab within the course in their fourth year (graduate students belong to the Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Agriculture).
Key terms
- Microalgae
- Algae so small that they can only be seen under a microscope. Some produce oils and other substances through photosynthesis.
- Biogas
- Combustible gas such as methane that is produced by microbial activity from organic matter such as food waste.
- Extreme environment
- A harsh environment, such as one with high temperature, high pressure, or strong acidity, where ordinary organisms cannot live.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims at microbe-based manufacturing, environmental restoration and purification, and an understanding of the marine biosphere. Its research covers the production of useful substances by microalgae, biogas, bioethanol, and microorganisms in deep-sea hydrothermal areas.
*Illustrative imageFuels and useful substances made by microbes
Focusing on lipids and hydrocarbons produced by microalgae, biogas from waste, and bioethanol that does not compete with food, the lab studies the production of useful substances, biogas generation, enzymatic saccharification and fermentation, and seaweed.
*Illustrative imageMicrobes in deep-sea hydrothermal vents
Targeting extreme marine environments such as hydrothermal vent fields on the deep seafloor around the world, the lab uses the physiology, ecology, and evolution of microbes that "eat the Earth" as models in research aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the marine biosphere.
MembersFaculty
The Marine Environmental Microbiology Lab consists of faculty members and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShigeki Sawayama
- Associate ProfessorSatoshi Nakagawa
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: “CSIRO ScienceImage 2971 Collection of microalgae cultures” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Fuels and useful substances made by microbes: “Anaerobic Digestion Biogas Plant - Massflow Scheme” Thzorro77 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Microbes in deep-sea hydrothermal vents: “Fauna on hydrothermal vents” Image courtesy of Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 Exploration, NOAA Vents Program / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Marine Molecular Microbiology Lab): “XBio illustration – Bacteriophage (Phage)” explorebiology / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Microbial Environment Control Lab): “Fungal mycelium” Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Pomology Lab): “Persimmon tree with many fruits - 1” KKPCW（Kyu3） / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plant Pathology Lab): “Septoria-tritici” Maccheek / Public domain (cropped)
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