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Koji Mold Breeding Engineering Lab
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An endowed chair that explores koji mold breeding through changes in its genome.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering the domestication of koji mold at the gene level.
The Koji Mold Breeding Engineering endowed chair studies the genetic changes that occurred as koji mold was domesticated from wild fungi.
Koji mold has enzymes that break down large amounts of starch and protein, and the lab also investigates the mechanisms that control how these enzymes are produced.
The lab also studies how wild fungi survive in the wild, exploring the possibility of obtaining strains with high enzyme activity or strong environmental tolerance.
It is an endowed chair established in October 2021 in the Division of Advanced Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University.
Key terms
- Koji mold
- A filamentous fungus used in making sake, soy sauce, miso, and mirin. The Brewing Society of Japan has recognized it as Japan's "national fungus"
- Domestication
- The change in a fungus's properties as a strain isolated from the wild continues to be kept and cultivated indoors
- Aflatoxin
- A toxin produced by some molds, and a carcinogen. Koji mold does not produce it and is established as a safe microorganism
ResearchResearch themes
This endowed chair investigates the genetic changes that occurred when koji mold was domesticated from wild fungi. It also studies how wild fungi live in the wild, seeking information that can be used to breed new koji molds.
*Illustrative imageGenetic Changes Accompanying Domestication
The lab analyzes what kinds of changes occurred at the gene level when koji mold was domesticated from wild fungi.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms Controlling Enzyme Production
Koji mold has enzymes that break down large amounts of starch and protein. The lab is trying to clarify how the mechanisms controlling enzyme production changed as the mold diverged from wild fungi.
*Illustrative imageSurvival Strategies of Wild Fungi and New Breeding
The lab studies the strategies wild fungi use to survive in the wild, exploring the possibility of obtaining strains with high enzyme activity, high environmental tolerance, or fast growth. Molds that produce aflatoxin are close in DNA to some koji molds, and the lab hopes to use comparisons of genes involved in enzyme production as information for new breeding.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Koji Mold Breeding Engineering Lab consist of faculty members, Visiting Professors, and Visiting Associate Professors.As of 2026
- Project ProfessorKen-Ichi Kusumoto
- Associate Professor, Endowed ChairKanae Sakai
- Visiting ProfessorHiroki Ishida
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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: “Koji spores 01” Vojtěch Zavadil / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Genetic Changes Accompanying Domestication: “Aspergillus oryzae” Yulianna.x / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms Controlling Enzyme Production: “9rnt” Deposition authors: Martinez-Oyanedel, J., Heinemann, U., Saenger, W.; visualization author: User:Astrojan / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Survival Strategies of Wild Fungi and New Breeding: “Various fungal growth” Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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建機協働研究所 （フィールドロボティクス部門、 材料・プロセス部門） ): “Schweres Geraet” Friedrich Haag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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