Clean Biological Chemistry Research Team

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Clean Biological Chemistry Research Team

Research Areas

Exploration and exploitation of biological processes provide important research subjects in chemistry and materials science. This team's effort will be directed to the preparation of biofunctional molecules, which are not accessible by technologies based on molecular biology, and highly functional polymer material. In order to achieve our goal, technologies that employ biocatalysts are highly promising.
Our research plan comprises 1) efficient and selective synthesis of biofunctional molecules such as glycoproteins, 2) biocatalyst-based preparation of polymer materials, and 3) understanding and utilization of biomass recycling system in Nature, such as termite-microbe symbiosis system, for the development of systems for materials production and carbon resource recycling.

Team Head
Yukishige ITO (D.Phar.)

Research Subject

(1)	Synthesis of functional molecules through biological processes
(2)	Development of bio-catalysts for clean bio-process
(3)	Molecular microbial ecology and symbioses in termites for efficient utilization of lignocelluloses

List of Selected Publications

(1)	Watanabe, T., Totani, K., Matsuo, I., Maruyama, J., Kitamoto, K., and Ito, Y.: "Genetic analysis of glucosidase II β-subunit in trimming of high-mannose-type glycans." Glycobiology 19: 834-840 (2009).
(2)	Lee, Y. J., Ishiwata, A., and Ito, Y.: "Synthesis of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate-linked glycans as donor substrate for bacterial protein N-glycosylation." Tetrahedron 65: 6310-6318 (2009).
(3)	Totani, K., Ihara, Y., Matsuo, I., and Ito, Y.: "Effects of Macromolecular crowding on glycoprotein processing enzymes." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130: 2101-2107 (2008).
(4)	Lee, Y. J., Ishiwata, A., and Ito, Y.: "Stereoselective synthesis of β-L-rhamnopyranosides." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130: 6330-6331 (2008).
(5)	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." Science 322: 1108-1109 (2008).
(6)	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.: "Complete genome of the uncultured Termite Group 1 bacteria in a single host protist cell." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105:5555-5560 (2008).
(7)	Inoue, J. -I., Saita, K., Kudo, T., Ui, S., and Ohkuma, M.: "Hydrogen production by termite-gut protists: characterization of iron hydrogenases of parabasalian symbionts of the termite Coptotermes formosanus." Eukaryot. Cell 6: 1925-1932 (2007).
(8)	Hiraishi, T., Hirahara, Y., Doi, Y., Maeda, M., and Taguchi, S.: "Effects of mutations in the substrate-binding domain of poly[(R)-3-hydoxybutyrate] (PHB) depolymerase from Ralstonia pickettii T1 on PHB degradation." Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 72, 7331-7338 (2006)
(9)	Matsumoto, N., Fujita, M., Hiraishi, T., Abe, H., and Maeda, M.: "Adsorption characteristics of P(3HB) depolymerase as evaluated by surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy." Biomacromolecules, 9, 3201-3207 (2008)
(10)	Hiraishi, T., Masuda, E., Nagata, M., Kanayama, N., Doi, Y., Abe, H., and Maeda, M.: "Cloning of poly(aspartic acid) (PAA) hydrolase-1 gene from Pedobacter sp. KP-2 and hydrolysis of thermally synthesized PAA by its gene product." Macromol. Biosci., 9, 10-19 (2009)

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