研究所の設置目的

石油などの化石燃料の利用は、温室効果、大気汚染、酸性雨などの深刻な環境問題の原因となっています。そのため近年、化石燃料に取って代わる再生可能でクリーンなエネルギー源として、光合成微生物が注目されています。

すでに当研究所では、光合成微生物であるシアノバクテリアを遺伝子工学的に改良し、水素発生効率を世界最高水準に高めることに成功しました。この研究成果をもとにして、光合成を利用したクリーンで再生可能なエネルギー源の技術開発を目指します。同時に、光合成細菌を使った光合成系の基礎的な研究も進めています。

惑星「地球」と共進化し、現在の地球環境の維持に欠かせない役割を担っている光合成生物。その研究を通じて「生命の進化」の理解のみならず、「未来の人間社会の在り方」に関しての提言を行います。

＊旧 Web Page は櫻井英博　客員教授の研究紹介からご覧頂けます。

[期間中の誌上発表（2008年4月から2018年3月まで）]

Masukawa, Hajime, Xiaohui Zhang, Emi Yamazaki, Syunsuke Iwata, Kensuke Nakamura, Mari Mochimaru, Kazuhito Inoue, and Hidehiro Sakurai. 2009.: “Survey of the Distribution of Different Types of Nitrogenases and Hydrogenases in Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobactera.” Marine Biotechnology 11 (3): 397–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-008-9156-z.
Sakurai, H., H. Masukawa, Xh Zhang, H. Ikeda, and K. Inoue. 2008.: “Improvement of Nitrogenase-Based Photobiological Hydrogen Production by Cyanobacteria by Gene Engineering – Hydrogenases and Homocitrate Synthase.” Photosynthesis. Energy from the Sun, 1277–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6709-9_275.
Ogawa, Takuro, Daisuke Seo, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2008.: “Thiosulfate-Oxidizing Multi-Component System in the Green Sulfur Bacterium Chlorobaculum Tepidum.” Photosynthesis. Energy from the Sun, 11–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6709-9_3.
Ogawa, Takuro, Toshinari Furusawa, Ryohei Nomura, Daisuke Seo, Naomi Hosoya-Matsuda, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2008.: “SoxAX Binding Protein, a Novel Component of the Thiosulfate-Oxidizing Multienzyme System in the Green Sulfur Bacterium Chlorobium Tepidum.” Journal of Bacteriology 190 (18): 6097–6110. https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00634-08.
櫻井英博, 北島正治, 増川一, and 井上和仁. 2009.: “シアノバクテリアの光合成系とニトロゲナーゼを利用した海面上での水素の大規模生産を目指した研究開発.” Science Journal of Kanagawa University 20 (2): 287–90. https://jglobal.jst.go.jp/detail?JGLOBAL_ID=200902223811507319.
Masukawa, Hajime, Kazuhito Inoue, Hidehiro Sakurai, C. Peter Wolk, and Robert P. Hausinger. 2010.: “Site-Directed Mutagenesis of the Anabaena Sp. Strain PCC 7120 Nitrogenase Active Site to Increase Photobiological Hydrogen Production.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 76 (20): 6741–50. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01056-10.
Sakurai, Hidehiro, Takuro Ogawa, Michiko Shiga, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2010.: “Inorganic Sulfur Oxidizing System in Green Sulfur Bacteria.” Photosynthesis Research 104 (2): 163–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-010-9531-2.
Ogawa, Takuro, Toshinari Furusawa, Michiko Shiga, Daisuke Seo, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2010.: “Biochemical Studies of a SoxF-Encoded Monomeric Flavoprotein Purified from the Green Sulfur Bacterium Chlorobaculum Tepidum That Stimulates in Vitro Thiosulfate Oxidation.” Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry 74 (4): 771–80. https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.90815.
Hirose, Setsuko, Kenji V.P. Nagashima, Katsumi Matsuura, and Shin Haruta. 2012.: “Diversity of Purple Phototrophic Bacteria, Inferred from Pufm Gene, within Epilithic Biofilm in Tama River, Japan.” Microbes and Environments 27 (3): 327–29. https://doi.org/10.1264/jsme2.ME11306.
Okubo, Takashi, Takahiro Tsukui, Hiroko Maita, Shinobu Okamoto, Kenshiro Oshima, Takatomo Fujisawa, Akihiro Saito, et al. 2012.: “Complete Genome Sequence of Bradyrhizobium Sp. S23321: Insights into Symbiosis Evolution in Soil Oligotrophs.” Microbes and Environments 27 (3): 306–15. https://doi.org/10.1264/jsme2.ME11321.
Nagashima, Sakiko, Akiko Kamimura, Takayuki Shimizu, Sanae Nakamura-Isaki, Eiji Aono, Koji Sakamoto, Natsuko Ichikawa, et al. 2012.: “Complete Genome Sequence of Phototrophic Betaproteobacterium Rubrivivax Gelatinosus IL144.” Journal of Bacteriology 194 (13): 3541–42. https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00511-12.
Kondo, Masaharu, Kouji Iida, Takehisa Dewa, Hirofumi Tanaka, Takuji Ogawa, Sakiko Nagashima, Kenji V.P. Nagashima, et al. 2012.: “Photocurrent and Electronic Activities of Oriented-His-Tagged Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting/Reaction Center Core Complexes Assembled onto a Gold Electrode.” Biomacromolecules 13 (2): 432–38. https://doi.org/10.1021/bm201457s.
Verméglio, André, Sakiko Nagashima, Jean Alric, Pascal Arnoux, and Kenji V.P. Nagashima. 2012.: “Photo-Induced Electron Transfer in Intact Cells of Rubrivivax Gelatinosus Mutants Deleted in the RC-Bound Tetraheme Cytochrome: Insight into Evolution of Photosynthetic Electron Transport.” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics 1817 (5): 689–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2012.01.011.
Kitashima, Masaharu, Hajime Masukawa, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2012.: “Flexible Plastic Bioreactors for Photobiological Hydrogen Production by Hydrogenase-Deficient Cyanobacteria.” Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry 76 (4): 831–33. https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.110808.
Masukawa, Hajime, Masaharu Kitashima, Kazuhito Inoue, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Robert P. Hausinger. 2012.: “Genetic Engineering of Cyanobacteria to Enhance Biohydrogen Production from Sunlight and Water.” Ambio 41 (SUPPL.2): 169–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0275-4.
Sakurai, Hidehiro, Hajime Masukawa, Masaharu Kitashima, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2013.: “Photobiological Hydrogen Production: Bioenergetics and Challenges for Its Practical Application.” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews 17 (December): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2013.05.001.
Masukawa, Hajime, Hidehiro Sakurai, Robert P. Hausinger, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2014.: “Sustained Photobiological Hydrogen Production in the Presence of N2 by Nitrogenase Mutants of the Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobacterium Anabaena.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 39 (34): 19444–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.09.090.
Nagashima, Kenji V.P., André Verméglio, Naoki Fusada, Sakiko Nagashima, Keizo Shimada, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2014.: “Exchange and Complementation of Genes Coding for Photosynthetic Reaction Center Core Subunits among Purple Bacteria.” Journal of Molecular Evolution 79 (1–2): 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-014-9634-z.
Nomata, Jiro, Maki Maeda, Atsuko Isu, Kazuhito Inoue, and Toru Hisabori. 2015.: “Involvement of Thioredoxin on the Scaffold Activity of NifU in Heterocyst Cells of the Diazotrophic Cyanobacterium Anabaena Sp. Strain PCC 7120.” Journal of Biochemistry 158 (3): 253–61. https://doi.org/10.1093/jb/mvv046.
Tsukatani, Yusuke, Yuu Hirose, Jiro Harada, Naomi Misawa, Keita Mori, Kazuhito Inoue, and Hitoshi Tamiaki. 2015.: “Complete Genome Sequence of the Bacteriochlorophyll B-Producing Photosynthetic Bacterium Blastochloris Viridis.” Genome Announcements 3 (5). https://doi.org/10.1128/genomeA.01006-15.
Sakurai, Hidehiro, Hajime Masukawa, Masaharu Kitashima, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2015.: “How Close We Are to Achieving Commercially Viable Large-Scale Photobiological Hydrogen Production by Cyanobacteria: A Review of the Biological Aspects.” Life 5 (1): 997–1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/life5010997.
Seo, Daisuke, Masaharu Kitashima, Takeshi Sakurai, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2016.: “Kinetics of NADP+/NADPH Reduction–Oxidation Catalyzed by the Ferredoxin-NAD(P)+ Reductase from the Green Sulfur Bacterium Chlorobaculum Tepidum.” Photosynthesis Research 130 (1–3): 479–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-016-0285-3.
Nagashima, Kenji V.P., Mai Sasaki, Kanako Hashimoto, Shinichi Takaichi, Sakiko Nagashima, Long Jiang Yu, Yuto Abe, et al. 2017.: “Probing Structure–Function Relationships in Early Events in Photosynthesis Using a Chimeric Photocomplex.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 (41): 10906–11. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1703584114.
Sato, Takeshi, Kazuhito Inoue, Hidehiro Sakurai, and Kenji V.P. Nagashima. 2017.
: “Effects of the Deletion of Hup Genes Encoding the Uptake Hydrogenase on the Activity of Hydrogen Production in the Purple Photosynthetic Bacterium Rubrivivax Gelatinosus IL144.” Journal of General and Applied Microbiology 63 (5): 274–79. https://doi.org/10.2323/jgam.2017.01.003.
Laurinavichene, Tatyana, Masaharu Kitashima, Kenji V.P. Nagashima, Takeshi Sato, Hidehiro Sakurai, Kazuhito Inoue, and Anatoly Tsygankov. 2017.: “Effect of Growth Conditions on Advantages of Hup− Strain for H2 Photoproduction by Rubrivivax Gelatinosus.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42 (12): 8497–8504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.12.074.
Masukawa, Hajime, Hidehiro Sakurai, Robert P. Hausinger, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2017.: “Increased Heterocyst Frequency by PatN Disruption in Anabaena Leads to Enhanced Photobiological Hydrogen Production at High Light Intensity and High Cell Density.” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 101 (5): 2177–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-8078-3.

[書籍]

Sakurai, H., H. Masukawa, and K. Inoue. 2008.: “A Preliminary Survey of the Economical Viability of Large-Scale Photobiological Hydrogen Production Utilizing Maricultured-Raised Cyanobacteria.” In New Research on Energy Economics, edited by P. G. Caldwell and E. V. Taylor, 443–62. New York: Nova Science Publishers. https://researchmap.jp/read0068222/books_etc/7599251.
Sakurai, H., H. Masukawa, and K. Inoue. 2009.: “A Preliminary Survey of the Economical Viability of Large-Scale Photobiological Hydrogen Production Utilizing Mariculture-Raised Cyanobacteria, Version 2.” In Handbook on Cyanobacteria : Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Applications, edited by P. M. Gault and H. J. Marler, 443–62. https://researchmap.jp/read0068222/books_etc/38866447.
Sakurai, Hidehiro, Hajime Masukawa, Masaharu Kitashima, and Kazuhito Inoue. 2010.: “A Feasibility Study of Large-Scale Photobiological Hydrogen Production Utilizing Mariculture-Raised Cyanobacteria.” In Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 675:291–303. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1528-3_17/COVER.
増川一, 北島正治, 櫻井英博, 井上和仁. 2012.: “ラン藻の窒素固定酵素ニトロゲナーゼを利用した大規模な水素生産構想.”『 In 微細藻類によるエネルギー生産と事業展望』竹山春子　編, 80–86. シーエムシー出版. https://kenkyu.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kuhp/KgApp?detlId=22&detlUid=ymkmyoykggg&detlSeq=322.
増川一, 北島正治, 櫻井英博, 井上和仁. 2014.: “糸状性シアノバクテリアの窒素固定酵素ニトロゲナーゼを利用した光生物学的水素生産.” 『光合成研究最前線』, 273–79. エヌ・ティー・エス. https://kenkyu.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kuhp/KgApp?detlId=22&detlUid=ymkmyoykggg&detlSeq=335.
永島賢治, 櫻井英博, 井上和仁. 2014.: “紅色光合成細菌による水素発生.” 『光合成のエネルギー利用と環境応用』, 三宅淳、佐々木健　編, 154–62. シーエムシー出版. https://researchmap.jp/read0068222/books_etc/38866445.
Poudyal, R.S., I. Tiwari, A.R. Koirala, H. Masukawa, K. Inoue, T. Tomo, M.M. Najafpour, S.I. Allakhverdiev, and T.N. Veziroğlu. 2015.: “Hydrogen Production Using Photobiological Methods.” In Compendium of Hydrogen Energy, 289–317. Woodhead Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-361-4.00010-8.
北島正治, 櫻井英博, 井上和仁, 増川一. 2016.: “シアノバクテリアからの高効率水素生産.” 『再生可能エネルギーによる水素製造』, 143–51. S&T出版. https://cmcre.com/archives/21851/.
井上和仁. 2016.: 人工光合成への道筋（１）――生物学からのアプローチ『夢の新エネルギ－「人工光合成」とは何か』, 井上晴夫編, 103–20. 光生物学協会編、講談社ブルーバックス. https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-01-9784062579803.
井上和仁. 2017.: “ヘテロシスト形成型シアノバクテリアを利用した光生物学的水素生産法.”『光触媒/光半導体を利用した人工光合成　～最先端科学から実装技術への発展を目指して～』, 堂免一成、瀬戸山亨　編, 84–91. (株)エヌ・ティー・エス. http://www.nts-book.co.jp/item/detail/summary/kagaku/20170100_167.html.