The aim of the one of my research is to develop the cultured thick and huge musclular tissue. To do this, I am developing the blood vescle in cultured tissues by using selfaggregation technique.
I am studying the mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy by Kaatsu training (pressurized muscle training) in cellular level to develop the method to treat musclular atrophy etc. Also I am studying the effects of physical environments (temperature, air contact, and ultrasonic wave irratiation, etc.) around blood in extracorporeal circulation devices such as artificial carcdiopulmonary device or dialysis cdevice on blood coagulation to develop the high-performance extracorporeal blood circulation device.

I study the biosynthetic pathway of indican (a precursor of indigo). As an application, I attempt the mass production of indigo in E. coli.

I analyze the intracellular function of several unique proteins from a slime mold.

Our group is interested in developing new synthetic methodologies to enable synthesis of biologically active natural compounds and their derivatives in environmental friendly manner. As such manners, we have developed metal-free regioselective cycloaddition of highly reactive o-quinone to form 1,4-benzodioxane and a procedure for construction of benzene ring from o-quinone and terminal alkynes through cycloaddition and photo-decarboxylation. We have also reported concise synthetic route to KDO, a kind of carbohydrate, including elimination of cyclic sulfite as a key step. By collaborative research with a company, functional monomers for dental adhesive resin cements have been developed. 　

Denatired protein forms insoluble aggrigate. Chemical cationization of decatured protein s them water soluble. Based on this protein cationization method, we have studied two theme as described later. Left panel shows the outline of cationized protein transduction for living mammalian cells。Cationized protein efficiently adosorbed to negatively charged cell surface and uptaked by endocytosis. Right panel shows application of cationized protein for adosorbent of autoantibody. Denatured and cationized whole antigen immobilized on adsorber would be possible to capture antibodies with various epitope.

Animals including humans have beautiful pigments on the body surface. In the pigmentations, melanosomes, specialized organelles for melanin generation, are synthesized in pigment cells called melanocytes and subsequently transferred from melanocytes to surrounding skin and hair keratinocytes. Although to understand melanosome transfer is important for developing cosmetics and pigment biology, molecular and cellular mechanisms of melanosome transfer have long been unclear.
I recently established a novel live imaging technique that enabled to directly analyze melanosome transfer in skin tissue using chicken embryos.I am going to elucidate the whole picture of the intercellular transfer of melanosomes by using the new technique.

Type II DNA topoisomerase (topo II) is an essential enzyme for resolution of topological problems arising in DNA metabolic processes such as transcription and replication. We study a role of the C-terminal domain of topo II in its nuclear dynamics and enzymatic activities.

Through advanced imaging techniques, biochemistry, and gene expression analyses, I work to understand the mechanisms of how plants adapt to changes in the environment.

(1) Mechanisms of Plant Motion and Growth 　Many people believe that plants do not move. However, the reality is that plants respond by sensing changes in light intensity, color, and temperature and moving. I focus on the behavior of microtubules in plant cells, which may be playing a key role in regulating plant motion and growth. This project tries to answer this classic, unanswered question in plant physiology, one that had been a focus of Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), the Father of Evolution.

(2) Mechanisms of Plant Environmental Responses To adapt to environmental change, plants must survive and reproduce through seed production because they cannot physically leave the place where their seeds germinate. In particular, my focus is on how plants adapt to higher temperatures. As we face the challenge of climate change and global warming, understanding mechanisms of biological adaptation to higher temperatures is critical.

(3) Functions of Small RNAs on Plant Embryogenesis and Development Small RNAs play important roles to regulate plant embryogenesis and developments. I discovered a novel gene expression mechanism involving small RNAs. This project tries to further develop this new field in plant physiology.

[Overview of research]
We studied the marine fish of aqua culture that does not use seawater.
Breeding possible fish species flounder, tiger puffer, striped jack, grouper, Japanese eel, New Guinea eel, blue fin tuna, chum salmon, Kuruma prawn, deman prawn etc.
We aim to gently safe and secure closed aqua culture in the environment at low cost.
These research activities has been attracting attention from the world not only in Japan but.

[Acquired patents]
· Patent No. 4665252
· Patent No. 4665258
· Patent No. 5062550
· Patent No. 5364874
· Patent No. 5487377
· Patent No. 5487378
· Patent No. 5578401

[International cooperation]
Introduction to the acetic acid injection method( Crown-of-thorns starfish control manual 2011 :Ministry of the Environment)
The Jica Project Study on Value-add Macrobrachium rosenbergii Aquaculture by the Third Water in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Plants can adapt to various environmental conditions by perceiving intensity and quality of light, direction of gravity, and so on. By elucidating such a stimulus-responsive mechanism, we will be able to modulate the growth of a plant to be optimized for an artificial condition such as in a space station or a plant factory.
We are studying on 1) the molecular bases for a wound-responsive gene expression, 2) the effect of light quality on root gravitropism, and 3) a novel plant growth regulator within a distilled extract from industrial waste biomass.

We are investigating the dynamics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Seto Inland Sea and other areas of western Japan. In addition, clarifying the mechanism of contamination of Lake Kojima, we are conducting water quality surveys of Lake Kojima and elution experiments of organic matter and nutrient salts from the bottom sediment. We are also investigating the effects of chemical substances on the properties of aquatic organisms.

My research focuses on elucidating the structure and function of biopolymers involved in the human life sciences. In particular, I focus on the field of human taste perception and study the mechanism of sweet taste perception. I also studies proteins that transform the human sense of taste. Certain proteins have the ability to alter human taste perception (e.g., changing sour taste to sweet). I believe that by elucidating this mechanism, we may be able to change “undesirable tastes” into “desirable tastes.

Skeletal muscle is an essential tissue for healthy living, and thus, age-related deterioration of motor function is a major problem. This is related to the fact that skeletal muscles become larger (muscle hypertrophy) or smaller (muscle atrophy) depending on the conditions of use. In addition, the dysfunction of muscle satellite cells causes serious symptoms. By elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle regeneration and muscle hypertrophy, this laboratory aims to contribute to the improvement of quality of life by overcoming the decline in muscle regenerative capacity associated with aging and muscle diseases.

Physarum polycephalum can servive in extreme desiccation conditions. Stabilization of biomolecules, including proteins, is essential action for survival in the desiccation condition. To understand the molecular mechanism of desiccation tolerance in Physarum polycephalum, I have researched the whole aspect of adaptation by omics analysis.

Development of efficient protocol to induce functional cells from pluripotent stem cells is important for cell therapies. We aim to create highly differentiated somatic cells and functional tissues by using genetic manipulation, 3D-culture, and co-culture methods. We also investigate the regulation mechanism of differentiation in cancer cells which could be useful information for both cancer therapy and regenerative medicine.

My researches focus on evolution of terrestrial vertebrates and their paleozoogeography on the basis of skeletal remains or fossils (turtles, lizards, crocodiles, dinosaurs, frogs, carnivoran mammals in particular). To collect those vertebrate remain, we have conducted field excavations in Japan Main Islands, Ryukyu Archipelago, Indonesia, and the Gobi desert of Mongolia every year.

I study hybridization and introgression of wild and cultivated plants using molecular markers. Especially I analyze those the distinction of which from native plants are now difficult due to their naturalizaion in pre-modern times. I also study the distinction and origin of cultivars using molecular genotying. In addition, I study the problems in denomination and nomenclature of cultivated plants as a member of the Internationl Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants.

Infrorescence of a tree cultivated as ‘Somei-yoshino’ at the Koshikawa Botanical Gardens, University of Tokyo. I demonstrated that this individual has different genotype from true ‘Somei-yoshino’, the clonallity of the latter cultivar is verified by molecular markers.

Insects adapt to various terrestrial environments. In temperate regions, to survive cold temperatures in winter is essential for insects. Thus, many insects predict the arrival of period which is not suitable for development and reproduction, and change their physiological state. I am studying how insects regulate the life cycles in response to environmental signals, by field observations and rearing experiments.

We are studying the natural history of Japan’s turtle, ecologically, ethologically and genetically. For the sea turtle, we survey the nested turtle on beach and bycaught turtle by fisheries. Furthermore, we study the ecology and disinfection technology of red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scriputa elegans, that was established in Japan. On the other hand, we monitor relationship between human and domestic animals, such a dolphin or seal, for the animal welfare.

It is able to be defined that Archaeological Animal remains would be a mirror of their environment and subsistence including gathering, hunting and fishing, in these days.
Every animal remains from archaeological sites is suitable to environmental archaeology in this way so it would be required to identify accurately most of all animal remains from every site. Most frequent variety of sponsored research is to identify shellfish and shell growth line analysis. Recently we analyze the oxygen stable isotope ratio and the carbon stable isotope ratio about archaeological shellfish to study palaeoenvironment.

Formation of stars like the sun and planets like the earth is one of the important themes of astronomy. We study both theory and observation of star and planet formation. I investigate the star formation triggered by effects of OB stars.
Regarding the astronomy education, I managed the certificate of the astronomy guide at Okayama University of Science and the four-dimensional digital universe theater at Faculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science.