Kyoto University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Jun Ogawa's research lab specializes in microbial metabolism and biocatalysis, focusing on the enzymatic conversion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into bioactive metabolites with physiological and health-promoting properties. The lab investigates gut microbial transformations of essential fatty acids, particularly the production of hydroxy fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers, and elucidates the enzymatic mechanisms underlying these processes. Key research directions include the identification and characterization of novel enzymes such as fatty acid hydratases and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, with applications in functional food development, pharmaceuticals, and industrial biotechnology. The lab also explores microbial and fungal systems—such as *Lactobacillus acidophilus* and *Mortierella alpina*—for sustainable production of high-value polyunsaturated fatty acids like arachidonic acid.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Gut microbial metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids have attracted much attention because of their various physiological properties. Dysfunction of tight junction (TJ) in the intestine contributes to the pathogenesis of many disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. We evaluated the effects of five novel gut microbial metabolites on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced barrier impairment in Caco-2 cells and dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice. 10-Hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic
Specific isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid with potentially beneficial physiological and anticarcinogenic effects, were efficiently produced from linoleic acid by washed cells of Lactobacillus acidophilus AKU 1137 under microaerobic conditions, and the metabolic pathway of CLA production from linoleic acid is explained for the first time. The CLA isomers produced were identified as cis-9, trans-11- or trans-9, cis-11-octadecadienoic acid and trans-9, trans-11-octadecadienoi
The filamentous fungus <i>Mortierella alpina</i> 1S-4 is capable of accumulating a large amount of triacylglycerol containing C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Indeed, triacylglycerol production by <i>M. alpina</i> 1S-4 can reach 20 g/L of culture broth, and the critical cellular signaling and structural PUFA arachidonic acid (ARA) comprises 30%-70% of the total fatty acid. The demonstrated health benefits of functional PUFAs have in turn encouraged the search for rich sources of these co
Hydroxy FAs, one of the gut microbial metabolites of PUFAs, have attracted much attention because of their various bioactivities. The purpose of this study was to identify lactic acid bacteria with the ability to convert linoleic acid (LA) to hydroxy FAs. A screening process revealed that a gut bacterium, Lactobacillus acidophilus NTV001, converts LA mainly into 13-hydroxy-cis-9-octadecenoic acid and resulted in the identification of the hydratase responsible, fatty acid hydratase 1 (FA-HY1). Re
We determined the enzymatic characteristics of an industrially important biocatalyst, α-ketoglutarate-dependent l-isoleucine dioxygenase (IDO), which was found to be the enzyme responsible for the generation of (2S,3R,4S)-4-hydroxyisoleucine in Bacillus thuringiensis 2e2. Depending on the amino acid used as the substrate, IDO catalyzed three different types of oxidation reactions: hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, and sulfoxidation. IDO stereoselectively hydroxylated several hydrophobic aliphatic
N-Carbamoyl-D-amino acid amidohydrolase was purified 119-fold, with 36% overall recovery from a cell-free extract of Comamonas sp. E222c. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as judged by SDS/PAGE. The relative molecular mass of the native enzyme was 120,000 and that of the subunit was 40,000. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed various N-carbamoyl-D-amino acids to D-amino acids, ammonia and carbon dioxide. N-Carbamoyl-D-amino acids having hydrophobic groups served as good substrates for the enzyme. T
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