FACULTY RESEARCH ACTIVITY 2014

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49Bioscience and BiotechnologyUsing micromanipulation to study the mechanism of fertilization and preserve, regenerate, and utilize genetic resourcesDivision of Applied BiologyMy lab studies physiological aspects of early events during fertilization in mammals as well as technical innovations involving the preservation and utilization of genetic resources. My students and I have published more than 100 research papers so far describing our research into haploid gametes (spermatozoa and oocytes) and diploid embryos from various mammalian species, including mice, rats, rabbits, cats, horses, buffalo, cattle, whales, and humans.Professor Hochi took his current position in 2008 after working as a researcher (1986 to 1992) at Snow Brand Milk Products Co. Ltd., as a visiting assistant professor (1992 to 1995) and visiting associate professor (1995 to 1996) at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, and as an assistant professor (1996 to 1999) and associate professor (1999 to 2008) in the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology at Shinshu University. He is engaged in research on reproductive physiology, cryobiology, and developmental engineering in small experimental rodents, large domestic animals, and humans.Advanced reproductive technologies such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection and somatic cell nuclear transplantation made it possible to bring the mammoth back to life. Furthermore, we have recently established pluripotent stem cell lines in laboratory rats. If these ES or iPS cells could be dierentiated into functional gametes, the process would be the ultimate treatment for infertility.Outlook for researchGraduates are employed by pharmaceutical and food-related companies as well as national and local organizations (as public ocials). In what has become a recent trend, some skilled graduates work at human infertility clinics as potential embryologists.Outlook for students after graduationBioscience and BiotechnologyBiopolymers: Gaining an understanding of the function and structure of DNA and enzymes in order to explain their interactions and apply them to biotechnologyDivision of Applied BiologyI examine the nature and structure of nucleic acids, which form DNA, and carcinogens and active oxygen, which damages DNA. My lab is also researching DNA repair enzymes that repair damaged DNA from a completely new perspective with the goal of clarifying how repair enzymes find damaged parts of the DNA and applying this knowledge to research into anti-carcinogenic drugs.Professor Shida joined the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology at Shinshu University in 1986 as a senior assistanto professor after working as a research associate at the Nagoya University Chemical Instrument Center and as a doctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University. He took his current position in 2009 after becoming an associate professor. His areas of specialization include nucleic acid chemistry, protein engineering, the science of biopolymer properties, and applied microorganism engineering.If we could clarify the functional structure of DNA and enzymes, we believe that knowledge could be applied in the medical domain and eectively used in the industrial production of biological materials.Outlook for researchGraduates are active in research centers at public research institutions and companies as well as at food product companies and fermented food companies, in the medical domain, and at scientic publishing companies.Outlook for students after graduationLeft: An electron microscope image of Kokuria rosea, a microorganism that lives in the ocean at a depth of 6,000 m (showing the brous substance around the cell body). Right: Fibrous protein obtained from a cultured cellAn explanation of the substrate recognition mechanism of very-early-stage enzymes before the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex, something that had not previously been considered for enzyme substrate recognition structure. Far left: The enzyme has not yet found the damaged DNA. Center: The amino acid on the surface of the enzyme has found the damage to the DNA (in the form of a hole). Far right: The enzyme is attempting to repair the damaged DNA.Intracytoplasmic injection of shhook-shaped rat sperm heads was dicult to achieve, but several clues helped us expand its application to freeze-dried spermatozoa.Micromanipulation enables us to handle not only oocytes with diameters of 100 to 120 μm, but also much smaller sperm cells.A microtubule network can be assembled from a centrosome of spermatozoon immediately after fertilization.Shinichi HochiProfessorToshio ShidaProfessor

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