Environment-Oriented Metabolism RIKEN ECL Research Unit

Elucidate metabolic principles by uncovering metabolic and enzymatic diversity in nature and validating via synthetic biology

RIKEN ECL Unit Leader

Yoko Chiba Ph.D.

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2012: Ph.D., The University of Tokyo
2012: Assistant professor, Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
2016: JAMSTEC Young Research Fellow, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
2019: Scientist, Biofunctional Catalysis Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2021: Senior Scientist, Biofunctional Catalysis Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2026: RIKEN ECL Unit Leader, Environment-Oriented Metabolism RIKEN ECL Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (-current)

Main Research Fields :	Biological sciences
Related Research Fields :	Chemistry / Biology / Agricultural sciences / Applied microbiology / Applied biochemistry / Functional biochemistry
Keywords :	Metabolism / Microorganism / Enzyme / Non-model organisms / Kinetics
Strategic Program :	Sustainable Bioproduction

Outline

Metabolism is a fundamental mechanism that enables life. Our research unit aims to elucidate the design principles of metabolism through comparative analyses of metabolic pathways and enzymes across diverse organisms. We focus on organisms adapted to environments distinct from those of model organisms, identifying previously unknown central metabolic pathways and exploring the origins of these differences by considering environmental conditions, intracellular physicochemical constraints, and “metabolic context”. By articulating metabolism as the mechanism that has sustained life for four billion years, we seek to contribute to sustainable human societal activities.

Subjects

Elucidate the diversity of metabolic pathways and enzymes in nature and extract the design principles
Validate metabolic design principles using synthetic biology approaches
Identify “appropriate” enzymes through kinetic analyses

An Approach to Understanding Metabolic Design Principles: We test hypotheses obtained from analyses of existing organisms’ metabolism using experiments and theory. Through this approach, we aim to understand metabolic design principles in nature and to provide guidelines for designing artificial metabolic systems.