Exploring the magical power of microbes to tackle environmental pollution and the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Today, various compounds are polluting the environment and causing serious threats to our planet, but among the diverse microbes, some possess the remarkable potential to degrade recalcitrant and toxic organic compounds responsible for environmental pollution.
Thus, microbes can be considered the invisible heroes supporting global environmental conservation and a circular society.
I analyze microbes’ ability to 'degrade and detoxify toxic pollutants' from various perspectives, including genomes, genes, enzymes, cells, populations, and ecosystems.
I also collaborate with companies on the practical application of degradative bacteria for bioremediation.
Alongside clarifying the true nature of degradative capability, I aim to link the study of how degradative bacteria behave in natural environments (such as persistence or loss of degradative ability) to the development of technologies that enable their effective use and control under real environmental conditions.
In studying degradative bacteria, we sometimes find some bacterial strains that can degrade xenobiotic pesticides synthesized by humans only decades ago.
This indicates that bacteria have rapidly evolved the ability to degrade such substances, highlighting the evolutionary aspect of microbial functions within the research of degradative bacteria.
Interestingly, the mechanisms underlying the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria share similar mechanisms with those of degradative bacterial evolution, and I hope this research will also contribute to solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Educational approach
Training experts in environmental microbiology who can practice multifaceted thinking.
To use pollutant-degrading bacteria effectively at contaminated sites, it is essential to thoroughly understand why they have degradative power, how it is expressed, and what environmental factors influence it.
At the same time, environmental remediation is closely linked to societal factors such as cost and community acceptance, requiring risk communication, stakeholder coordination, and compliance with regulations.
For antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well, it is important to accurately understand the microbial phenomena involved and perform risk assessments in order to consider why resistant strains emerge and how to suppress or control them to a manageable level.
In the laboratory, we thoroughly investigate microbial functions by interdisciplinaryknowledge from microbiology, molecular biology, protein science, and molecular ecology and also encourage students to acquire knowledge of the relevant social background.
We hope our graduates will become individuals who understand microbes deeply and can consider environmental remediation and microbial applications with a broad perspective.
Vision for industry-academia collaboration
Why not isolate, utilize, and analyze microbes with desired activities yourself?
Useful degradative bacteria need to be isolated directly from the environment.
Generally, degradative bacteria are often obtained through enrichment cultures, but isolating strains with strong and applicable degradation abilities requires significant time and expertise.
I have collaborated with many companies on the removal of target contaminats from their wastewater and the functional analysis of microbes already used for environmental remediation to improve control efficiency.
Research on degradative bacteria begins with their isolation.
By working together with companies, usable microbes can be obtained, applied practically by the companies, and analyzed functionally in joint projects.
I would very much like to build such projects together.
Microbes are often referred to as biocatalysts and treated as 'self-replicating catalysts.'
While this view is often valid in bioreactors cultivating limited types of microbes, it does not apply when using microbes in complex environments influenced by diverse biological, physical, and chemical factors.
This difficulty is evident in the challenges of controlling the gut microbiota.
The use of microbes for environmental remediation is precisely a field where this challenge becomes apparent.
I look forward to collaborating with researchers seeking to use microbes in complex environments.
