We want to make something useful!

Efforts to harness the utility of organisms for industrial use have been underway worldwide throughout the history of biotechnology development. JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) survey results show that "new organisms are detected at high frequency in the deep sea." Our research team uncovers "new usable substances that improve lives and promote health" produced by high-novelty deep-sea organisms and microorganisms, and conducts research to develop them for industrial use.

At first glance, the darkness resulting from lack of the sun’s rays, extreme pressure, low temperature and poor nutrient conditions of the deep sea may seem too extreme for life to exist. However, many organisms do inhabit these environments and many novel organisms are also being detected. Many of the substances these organisms produce are also highly novel and believed to have effective use in applied research. Our research group uses the ships and deep-sea submersibles owned by JAMSTEC to obtain samples of organisms that inhabit the deep sea for use in research.

We discovered a new enzyme called thermostable agarase from deep sea organisms, some of which have been commercially produced as reagents for gene analysis. Collaboration with private enterprises and other research institutions enables us to carry out many searches for usable substances and development research projects simultaneously.