KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER

Special Issue農学部Faculty of AgricultureSolution Programme, Food and Agricultural Economics CourseIn recent years,despite thegrowing desirefor regionalrevitalization inrural regions,there are manyareas wherethe first steptowards itsimplementationcannot be taken due to lack of trained personnel andconcrete know-how.Therefore, in the Solution Programme of the Foodand Agriculture Economics course, we combineproblem-solving educational research with theaccumulation and compilation of data about theavailability of local resources, the problems and ideaslocal residents have, and market consumer needs inorder to conduct advanced data analysis. The resultsare then provided to local government officials to assistwith more effective planning and implementation ofregional revitalization.In 2017, a project by our students in the theKareigawa area of Kirishima in Kagoshima Prefecturereceived the Furusato-Zukuri Grand Prize of theMinistry of Internal Affairs and Communications.The Solution Programmeʼs detailed proposal and itseffectiveness, supported by precise investigation aswell as advanced analysis, were highly appreciated.Department of Food Science and BiotechnologyThe department has outstanding curricula and researchfields cover a broad range of areas such as foodscience, life science, soil science and fermentationtechnology. These fields have had a significant impacton our society, especial on human and animal healthas well as sustainable crops and food production. Thedepartment has three courses:(1) Food Chemistry and Bio-function. This courseprovides education and research in food function& nutrigenomics, food chemistry, biochemistry &nutritional chemistry, macromolecular biochemistry,and applied carbohydrate chemistry. Varioustechniques are employed from molecular andcellular levels to animal level to explore the linkbetween food components and health promotion.Studies include the structures and functions ofphytochemicals, enzymes and polysaccharides,disease-preventing effects of bioactive compounds,development of new bioactive materials andcomponents from animals and plants as well asmicroorganisms.(2) Food Safety and Bio-Environmental Science.This course provides education and research in soiland environmental sciences, plant pathology, plantphysiology and nutrition, fertilisers, postharvestphysiology and preservation, food processing anddistribution. These studies are being carried out inmany aspects of food safety to harmonise the stableprovision of safe and high-quality food products withenvironmental conservation.(3) Fermentation Technology and Microbial Science.This course provides education and research inshochu (distilled alcoholic beverage) fermentationtechnology, fermentation microbiology and appliedmolecular microbiology. The studies specialise intwo aspects: one is to learn the regional climatesand traditions of fermented foods, and bring a freshperspective to the fermentation industry. Anotheris to study microbe functions on the molecularlevel and apply these findings to new fermentationtechnologies.The department has undergraduate programmeand an MSc graduate programme leading to thePhD programme in the United Graduate School ofAgriculture. The department plays a central role inthe research and development of national and localfood industries, and many excellent research resultsare published annually in world-class journals in thefield of food, agriculture, medicine and pharmacology.Our high standard of research facilities in the aspectsof food chemistry, analytic chemistry, biochemistry,molecular biology, genomics, and animal experimentsensure excellent job prospects for our graduates inindustry, government and academia.KU Today3

Laboratory of Applied Molecular MicrobiologyIshibashi Matsujiro, ProfessorTsurumaru Hirohito, Assistant ProfessorOur research interests relate to the basic and appliedchemistry of environmental microorganism. Here, webriefly introduce two of our research topics: the functionand application of enzymes and halophilic bacteria(bacteria that live in high salt concentrations); and thebiology and ecology of plant-associated bacteria.(1) The function and application of enzymes andhalophilic bacteriaHalophilic archaea (single-celled microorganisms thatlack a defined nucleus) and bacteria can be dividedformally into two classes: extreme and moderatehalophiles. Both can survive or even thrive in saltyenvironments. These halophiles are thus used incertain commercial applications that require high saltconcentrations. They use different strategies to raise theinternal osmotic pressure and cope with the external highsalt concentrations. As the external salt concentrationsare similarly high in the habitat of both halophiles, theirextracellular proteins are intrinsically resistant to high saltconcentrations. However, the cytoplasmic proteins aredifferent between the two halophiles. The cytoplasmicproteins and enzymes of extreme halophiles, but notmoderate halophiles, are also resistant to high saltconcentrations. Thus, cytoplasmic proteins from extremehalophiles and extracellular proteins from both habitatshave unique characteristics that make them salt-tolerant(i.e., a high acidic amino acid content (Fig. 1)). Weresearch such unique characteristics of halophilic proteinsfor commercial applications and scientific interest.Fig. 1 Comparison of theelectrostatic potential ofthe molecular surfaceof (a) halophilic and (b)nonhalophilic enzymes.Positive and negative chargeis presented in blue and red,respectively.(2) Biology and ecology of plant-associated bacteria.As shown in Fig. 2, plant-associated bacteria are knownto affect growth and quality of the host plant (Tsurumaruet al. Microbes and environments 30:63-69). However,only limited success of bacterial inoculants for cropproduction has been achieved. This is because thephylogeny and ecology of plant-associated bacteria areyet to be fully understood. Therefore, our laboratoryinvestigates the plant-associated bacterial communityby using culture independent methods, and isolatesbacteria from plants to construct a bacterial library. Thestrains, selected based on the analysis of plant-associatedbacterial community, are likely to be used as prospectivebacterialinoculantsto enhancegrowth andquality ofimportantplants.Fig. 2 Bacterial plant growth promotion.Laboratory of Food Function and NutrigenomicsHou Dexing, ProfessorSakao Kozue, Assistant ProfessorAccumulated evidence shows that most phytochemicalsfrom vegetables and fruit potentially reduce the risk for avariety of chronic diseases and provide beneficial effectsfor human health although the mechanisms are not fullyclear. Thus, our research interests focus on the systematicestimation of food functionality and safety, usingadvanced methodologies and technologies of chemistryand molecular biology at cellular and animal levels.Two major research projects are now underway in ourlaboratory: the structure-activity relationship investigationof cancer chemopreventive effects of phytochemicalsin human cancer cells (1); and the preventive effect andmechanism clarification of phytochemicals on lifestylerelated diseases (2).(1) Polyphenols and their health effects have been4KU Todayextensively studied in the last several decades. Quercetin(3, 3ʼ, 4ʼ, 5, 7-pentahydroxyflavone) is one of the mostabundant flavonol-type flavonoids. Flavonoids are partof the polyphenol class of phytonutrients, and exhibitantioxidative, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory,anti-aggregatory, and vasodilating effects. Therefore,quercetin is an attractive natural compound for cancerprevention. The hydroxyl groups of flavonoids areimportant for their bioactive functions and also prone tooxidation to quinones. To directly demonstrate the roleof hydroxyl groups and generate a stronger bioactivecompound, we have synthesised various derivatives ofquercetin. Their bioactive functions are then evaluatedfor the ability to inhibit cell proliferation and induceapoptosis in different human cancer cells (Fig.1).

Special Issue農学部Faculty of Agriculture(2) Lifestyle-related diseases are primarily based onthe daily habits of people, and include many chronicdiseases such as cancer, heart diseases and diabetes.Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is known asone of the lifestyle-related diseases affecting modernsociety. NAFLD trends to develop in people who areoverweight or obese, or have diabetes, high cholesterolor high triglycerides. The proinflammatory cytokinesand oxidative stress are suggested to a play critical rolein NAFLD promotion. On the other hand, we havedemonstrated that dietary phytochemicals can attenuateboth oxidative stress and inflammation. Thus, we arestudying the protective effects and mechanisms ofdietary phytochemicals on NAFLD by investigating thebiomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress, and gutFig.1 Cell morphological changes of breast cancer cells treatedwith 0.2% DMSO as control (left) and quercetin (right).microbiome status. Some significant effects have beenobtained (Fig.2).Our laboratory is international. We have had manystudents from China, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines,Australia, Myanmar, Mexico and Vietnam. They studywell together with our Japanese students, and havepublished many high quality research papers. Ourstudents are very active in both studies and research withsome postgraduate and doctorate students having beenawarded prizes at international congresses. Additionally,we have published more than 30 papers in internationaljournals in the last five years. Some of our researchpapers have been covered by the journal, MolecularNutrition Food Research.Fig.2 Representative liver sections from high fat diet (HFD: left) andhigh fat diet with bilberry (HFD BB: right).Department of Environmental Sciences and TechnologyThe department has two education courses: ForestScience, and Environmental and Bioresource Engineering.We provide education and research programmes onforest ecology, management, and planning, the utilizationof forests and forest products, biomass productionand utilisation, agro-environmental informatics,erosion control and hydrology, the conservation andmanagement of agricultural lands and water resources,and environmental education.Our educational goals are to develop students whowill have acquired specialised knowledge and skillsin the fields of effective utilisation of local resources,conservation of forest and agricultural lands, disasterprevention, and who can also contribute to forminga foundation for agricultural and forest production inharmony with natural environments, the promotion oflocal development, and the improvement of the livingenvironment in rural districts.The Forest Science course provides educationthat develops students who will have deepened theirunderstanding of the ecosystems of warm temperateto subtropical forests, and who possess the knowledgeand ability to plan and manage cyclic utilisation offorest resources in southern Kyushu, one of the largestwood supply bases in Japan, and for land prevention.The research topics on this course are the mechanismand prediction of sediment disasters, silviculture,forest ecosystems and their conservation includingforest animals, insects and microbes, wood demandand production, effective forestry operation, woodenbuildings, forest resource monitoring, sustainable forestmanagement, and rural development based on forestresource utilisation.The Environmental and Bioresource Engineering courseprovides education and research related to the managementof regional resources, the conservation of th

chemistry of environmental microorganism. Here, we briefly introduce two of our research topics: the function and application of enzymes and halophilic bacteria (bacteria that live in high salt concentrations); and the biology and ecology of plant-associated bacteria. (1) The function and application of