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Molecular Microbial Science Lab
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The lab uses biochemistry to uncover how microorganisms work and puts that knowledge to use.
AboutAbout the lab
The big workings of life inside tiny microbes.
The Molecular Microbial Science Lab (Kurihara Lab) aims to elucidate the mechanisms behind diverse life phenomena in microorganisms through biochemical approaches and to develop applications from them.
The lab studies the molecular basis of environmental adaptation in microbes living in extreme environments, novel enzymes that catalyze unique reactions, lipids that form biological membranes, and membrane vesicles that microbes release outside the cell. Based on these findings, it develops new ways of using microorganisms that are useful for purposes such as chemical production.
Key terms
- Psychrophilic bacteria
- Microorganisms that can grow even in cold environments near the freezing point.
- Enzyme
- A protein that drives chemical reactions inside living organisms.
- Biological membrane
- A membrane made of lipids and proteins that encloses cells and the organelles inside them.
- Membrane vesicle
- A nano-sized, membrane-enclosed capsule that bacteria release outside the cell.
NewsLab news
A student received the Poster Presentation Award at the FY2025 Institute for Chemical Research Graduate Student Research Presentation Meeting
A paper on membrane vesicles was published in the Journal of Bacteriology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab biochemically elucidates the mechanisms of microbial life phenomena and develops new ways of using microorganisms.
*Illustrative imageAdaptation of microorganisms to low-temperature environments
Studying psychrophilic bacteria obtained from Antarctic seawater and other sources, the lab investigates the molecular basis of environmental adaptation, such as enzymes that lower the activation energy of reactions and mechanisms that keep biological membranes fluid even at low temperatures, as well as production systems that make use of them.
*Illustrative imageUnique microbial enzymes
The lab works on functional analysis, detailed analysis of reaction mechanisms, and applied development of microbial enzymes that have activities not found in animals or plants and that degrade compounds in the environment or produce unusual compounds.
*Illustrative imageMicrobial membrane lipids
To understand biological membranes, which are the interface between the cell and the outside world, the lab studies the biosynthesis and metabolism of the lipid molecules that make up the membranes, their movement within the membrane, and their physiological functions.
*Illustrative imageBacterial extracellular membrane vesicles
Using a bacterium it discovered that produces large amounts of membrane vesicles, the lab investigates how the vesicles are formed and how specific proteins are transported into them. It also conducts applied research on creating membrane vesicles artificially given specific functions.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorTatsuo Kurihara
- Associate ProfessorJun Kawamoto
- Assistant ProfessorTakuya Ogawa
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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: “Thermophilic bacteria” Amateria1121 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Adaptation of microorganisms to low-temperature environments: “Role of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles” E.L. Cavan, A. Belcher, A. Atkinson, S. L. Hill, S. Kawaguchi, S. McCormack, B. Meyer, S. Nicol, L. Ratnarajah, K. Schmidt, D. K. Steinberg, G. A. Tarling & P. W. Boyd / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Unique microbial enzymes: “Colourful Thermophilic Archaebacteria Stain in Midway Geyser Basin” Wing-Chi Poon / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Microbial membrane lipids: “Lipid bilayer section” Bensaccount / Public domain (cropped)
- Bacterial extracellular membrane vesicles: “Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from Salmonella in chicken ileum.” Rakeshyashroy Original research work data of Dr. R.C. YashRoy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Environment Analytical Chemistry Lab): “PTFE-3D-vdW” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Aquatic Environmental Analytical Chemistry Lab): “Sampling fluids from the Deep (OOI 45)” Ocean Observatories Initiative / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Atomic and Molecular Structure Lab): “XBio illustration – X-ray Crystallography” explorebiology / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Organoelement Chemistry Lab): “Pentacene molecule spacefill” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
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