Microbe Division (RIKEN BRC JCM)

The Microbe Division in RIKEN-BRC has been collecting, preserving, standardizing, and distributing cultured microbial strains since established as Japan Collection of Microorganism (JCM) in 1981. Our mission is to contribute to scientific communities in a variety of research fields by maintaining and serving high-quality microbial resources useful for general microbial studies and researches related to environmental and human health issues. As a research and development laboratory, we are also working to continuously improve our function as a microbial resource center, to develop new microbial resources, to describe novel microbial taxa, and to investigate microbial communities and yet-uncultured microorganisms.

Research Subjects

• Collection, preservation, quality control, and distribution of microbial strains
• Development of microbial resources for environmental and health researches
• Isolation and characterization of new microbial strains
• Studies on microbial communities and yet-uncultured microorganisms

Publications

1. Takashima, M., Sugita, T., Van, B.H., Nakamura, M., and Ohkuma, M.:
   "Taxonomic richness of yeasts in Japan between subtropical and cool temperate areas. "
   PLoS ONE 7: e50784 (2012)
2. Kitahara, M., Sakamoto, M., Tsuchida, S., Kawasumi, K., Amao, H., Benno, Y., and Ohkuma, M.:
   "Bacteroides stercorirosoris sp. nov. and Bacteroides faecichinchillae sp. nov., isolated from chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) faeces."
   Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 62: 1145-1150 (2012)
3. Noda, S., Mantini, C., Meloni, D., Inoue, J., Kitade, O., Viscogliosi, E., and Ohkuma M.:
   "Molecular phylogeny and evolution of Parabasalia with improved taxon sampling and new protein markers of actin and elongation factor-1α."
   PLoS ONE 7: e29938 (2012)
4. Sakamoto, M., and Ohkuma, M.:
   "Identification and classification of the genus Bacteroides by multilocus sequence analysis."
   Microbiology 157: 3388-3397 (2011)
5. Obata, T., Goto, Y., Kunisawa, J., Sato, S., Sakamoto, M., Setoyama, H., Matsuki, T., Nonaka, K., Shibata, N., Gohda, M., Kagiyama, Y., Nochi, T., Yuki, Y., Fukuyama, Y., Mukai, A., Shinzaki, S., Fujihashi, K., Sasakawa, C., Iijima, H., Goto, M., Umesaki, Y., Benno, Y., and Kiyono, H.:
   "Indigenous opportunistic bacteria inhabit mammalian gut-associated lymphoid tissues and share a mucosal antibody-mediated symbiosis."
   Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107: 7419-742 (2010)
6. Sato, T., Hongoh, Y., Noda, S., Hattori, S., Ui, S., and Ohkuma, M.:
   "Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae, a novel intracellular symbiont of the flagellate Trichonympha agilis in termite gut."
   Environ. Microbiol. 11: 1007-1015 (2009)
7. Ohkuma, M., Noda, S., Hongoh, Y., Nalepa, C.A., and Inoue, T.:
   "Inheritance and diversification of symbiotic hypermastigid flagellates from a common ancestor of termites and the cockroach Cryptocercus."
   Proc. R. Soc. B. 276:239-245. (2009)
8. Hongoh, Y., Sharma, V.K., Prakash, T., Noda, S., Toh, H., Taylor,T.D., Kudo, T., Sakaki, Y., Toyoda, A., Hattori, M., and Ohkuma, M.:
   "Genome of an endosymbiont coupling N2 fixation to cellulolysis within protist cells in termite gut."
   Sicence 322,1108-1109 (2008)
9. Ohkuma, M.:
   "Symbioses of flagellates and prokaryotes in the gut of lower termites."
   Trends Microbiol. 16, 345-352 (2008)
10. Hongoh, Y., Sharma, V.K., Prakash, T., Noda, S., Taylor,T.D., Kudo, T., Sakaki, Y., Toyoda, A., Hattori, M., and Ohkuma, M.:
    "Complete genome of the uncultured Termite Group 1 bacteria in a single host protist cell."
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105, 5555-5560 (2008)

Organization