Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

• 病原性カビに関する研究
• 病原性酵母に関する研究
• 食品と関わりのあるカビ・酵母に関する研究

研究室のキーワードはズバリ「真菌」です。真菌、という言葉になじみがない学生さんも多いと思いますが、カビや酵母、キノコと行った私たちが普段から目にしている（目に見えないけど周囲にいる）微生物です。研究室では主にワルモノの真菌を対象としています。ヒトや動物に感染する真菌、毒素を産生する真菌…などなどいます。一部、共同研究などで食品に関わる真菌（発酵に寄与する真菌など）も取り扱っています。研究室では学生さんたちに普段の授業や実習に加えて、学生さんたちには研究室での生活（研究すること以外にも、論文を読んだり、ゼミで議論したり、などなど）を自分のペースで楽しんで欲しいと思います。
ありふれている割にはあまり考える機会が無い真菌に興味を覚えたら、遠慮無く豊留のオフィスまで足を運んでみてください。ホームページやFecebookページも開設しています。「帯広畜産大学　豊留」で検索してみてください！

The key word of my research is “fungi.” Although it may not sound familiar to non-experts, it's the general term for molds, yeasts, mushrooms and certain other organisms around us. Molds, yeasts and mushrooms are indispensable for our lives, especially for our diet. Bad fungi harm humans and animals by causing diseases or producing toxins (mycotoxins). Such fungi have been the main subject of my research.
While various fungi cause infections and produce mycotoxins, I currently focus on the Aspergillus fumigatus mold, which causes aspergillosis in animals and humans. Much remains unknown about how this mold cause that disease.
In our research, we've found that A. fumigatus uses host serum components to efficiently form a bio-film structure. Bio-film formation gives microbes immunity and resistance to antimicrobial drugs. We believe that bio-film formation by A. fumigatus contributes to the persistence of infection, and we hope to find a new treatment strategy for aspergillosis by elucidating its mechanism of action.
Azole antifungal drugs are used for treating A. fumigatus. The emergence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus is a global issue. Our research has found that this fungus also exists in Japan. We're still continuing investigations and research, and we intend to provide information on the status of fungi in Japan.
Through these research projects, we aim to contribute to the clarification of the disease-causing mechanism and treatment of aspergillosis.
We're also conducting a wide range of other research projects with many joint researchers, including projects on the mechanism of toxicity of a mycotoxin called deoxynivalenol, adiaspiromycosis in animals caused by mold, and fungi that are involved in food production.

• Elucidation of the mechanism of biofilm formation by Aspergillus fumigatus
• Drug resistance of Aspergillus fumigatus
• Infectious mechanism of the causative agent of adiaspiromycosis
• Toxic mechanism of deoxynivalenol