AccessOsaka Monorail

Osaka
International Airport

Hotarugaike

Kyoto
Kawaramachi

Hankyu Takarazuka Line
ShinOsaka

Shin
-kobe

◀FUKUOKA

Kyoto
TOKYO▶

Kobe University
Kobe Municipal
SubwayRokko

Hankyu Kobe Line
JR Kobe Line

Juso

Sannomiya

Rokkomichi

Amagasaki

Kobe New Transit
Port Island Line

Kobe University

Osaka(Umeda)JR Osaka Loop Line

MikageHanshin Electric Railway

JR Tozai Line
Kyobashi
Namba
Osaka Municipal
subwayKobe Airport

TennojiNankai Airport Line

JR Yamatoji Line

Kansai International Airport

Nara

JR Kansaikuko Line

［Rokkodai 2nd Campus］［Integrated Research Center］

RIKEN Center for
Computational
Science・ From the “Sannomiya” station:
Take the Port Liner bound for “Kobe Airport”
to the “K Computer Mae” station（15 minutes）.
（1 minute from the south exit）

From the nearest stations to Rokkodai 2nd Campus
On Foot ： 15-20 minutes from the Hankyu “Rokko” station
By Bus ： From the Hanshin “Mikage” station, the JR “Rokkomichi” station,or the Hankyu “Rokko” station, take Kobe City Bus No. 36 bound for Tsurukabuto Danchi
or Tsurukabuto 2-chome Domari to Shindai Bunri-Nogakubu Mae
By Taxi ： 15-20 minutes from the Hanshin “Mikage” station
10-15 minutes from the JR “Rokkomichi” station
5-10 minutes from the Hankyu “Rokko” station

Inquiries / Contact
Kobe University
Graduate School of Science,Technology and Innovation
General Affairs Section
1-1, Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
Tel: +81-78-803-6495
Email: stin-soumu2@oﬃce.kobe-u.ac.jp

ENGINEERINGBIOLOGYRESEARCH CENTER

・ From the “Kobe Airport” station:
Take the Port Liner bound for “Sannomiya”
to the “K Computer Mae” station（4 minutes）.
（1 minute from the south exit）

Creating an Innovation Hub for Engineering Biology
Through Industry-University-Government Collaboration
Established on July 1, 2018, the Engineering Biology
Research Center (EGBRC) at Kobe University is charged withthe mission of exploring the frontiers of engineering biology
by leveraging Kobe University’ s unique features andstrengths. The EGBRC is also the sole research center inJapan that aims to create innovation in this emerging
interdisciplinary field.
Our goal is to make the EGBRC a hub for innovation thatcombines “hardware,” or tangibles such as research space
HASUNUMA Tomohisa
and equipment, and “software,” or intangibles such as
Director
researchers and intellectual property. We will achieve this byEngineering Biology Research Center,building and expanding a research and development platform
Kobe University
while simultaneously promoting advanced research anddevelopment through industry-university-government collaboration.
Building on our extensive track records of teaching/researching engineering biology andpartnerships with outside institutions, we intend to shape the bioeconomy by creating thekinds of innovations that meet demand from the government and society at large, including
bioproduction of a variety of useful substances.
I ask for your kind support and cooperation for our endeavors.

Capital subscription,ﬁnancing support, etc.
Commercialization of
platform technologies, etc.

Collaborationand cooperation

Promotion of Advanced Interdisciplinary
Innovation ResearchEndorsed byMultiple Graduate Schools

12Promotion of Interdisciplinary Research and Industry-University Collaborative Research
The EGBRC consists of six research units each aligned with Kobe University’ s core technologies—namely, theBio-based Fuel and Chemical Research Unit, Biologics Research Unit, Functional Food Material and Agrobio
Research Unit, Chemical and Process Research Unit, Advanced Platform Technology Development Unit, andBioeconomy Research Unit. By extensively promoting inter-unit collaboration, the EGBRC facilitatesinterdisciplinary work for its researchers. The EGBRC also taps into the know-how it has gained from experiencein government-subsidized projects and joint research, while at the same time designing a research frameworkthat encompasses multiple fields. In this way, it is able to flexibly respond to the ever-diversifying needs of theindustrial sector and to enhance opportunities for industry-university collaboration and open innovation.

Acceleration of Innovation Through Integration of Social Science and Natural ScienceAs a research center where social science is integrated with natural science, the Bioeconomy Research Unit
serves as an avenue for collaboration between faculty members of two different disciplines. This results insupport for innovation and the development of commercialization strategies with a focus on acquisition of
intellectual property rights, development of production engineering, and discovery of new markets.

Chemicaland Process

Bio-based Fueland Chemical

Graduate School of Engineering

About EGBRC

University-launched
Venture Companies

Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Co., Ltd.
（STE Co., Ltd.）

Research Unit

Research Unit

Graduate School of Science
Graduate School of
Science, Technology and Innovation
Graduate School of
Agricultural Science

Aiming to bea hub forinnovation

Biologics

Research Unit

・Formation of open innovation opportunities
through multiple-industry/university
collaboration
・Development of experts in engineering biology

Creation of a platform foradvanced research anddevelopment into
bioproduction of a variety ofuseful substances that willlead the bioeconomy

Functional Food
Materialand Agrobio

Advanced
Platform

Technology
Development Unit

Bioeconomy
Research Unit

Research Unit

3 Partnerships with Outside Institutions

Partnerships with the Organization for Engineering Biology (OEB) and Biologics Center for Research and Training(BCRET) keep us updated on the latest developments in engineering biology and biologics fields around the world,
making it possible for us to stay abreast of research and development as well as industrial trends and needs. This
allows us to engage in exploratory research and development, which facilitates further advancement of research,
industrial promotion, and human resource development.

Provision ofresearch space and equipment

Bridging joint research endeavors /Acquisition of large-scale research projects

4 Promotion of International Joint Research

Through membership in the Global Biofoundries Alliance (GBA), in which there are discussions of"biofoundries," a body of integrated platform technologies in advanced biotechnology, the EGBRC contributes tothe development of the bioeconomy by disseminating research findings, sharing the latest research trends, anddeveloping business models.

5 Availability of Research Space and Equipment

The EGBRC has made available a wealth of equipment and instruments that are necessary for research inengineering biology, a cutting-edge field that straddles multiple disciplines. By putting in place a system forshared use by researchers from both Kobe University and elsewhere, we support interdisciplinary research andindustry-university collaborative research.

General Incorporated Association
Organization for Engineering Biology（OEB）

General Incorporated Association Biologics Center
for Research and Training（BCRET）

Bio-based Fuel and Chemical Research Unit

Functional Food Material and Agrobio Research Unit

Development of Smart Cells and Other Foundational Technologies
for Realizing a Low-Carbon Society
This research unit is involved in a variety of advancements regarding the production of bio-based fuels andchemicals with the ultimate goal of realizing a sustainable low-carbon society. It also works on producing
biologically active functional substances.
In Japan, efforts are underway to create a “smart-cell industry” . This is a next-generation industry based on“smart cells” , which are defined as “finely designed, expression-controlled biologically functional cells.” This
research unit consists of three research groups, which attend to their work, day in and day out, in a bid to bringabout through their research the breakthroughs needed for the society-wide implementation of innovativetechnologies.

Creation of Food Safety and Security Sciencefor Farms and Human Health
Unit Head
Professor

KONDO Akihiko

Considering the rise in the social issues stemming from decreases in crop productivity due to extreme
weather and increases in lifestyle diseases, this research unit engages in a variety of research projects
concerning “functionality” of “functional foods,” which are expected to ameliorate and prevent such issues.
Fully taking into account the wide-ranging dynamic phases—from micro to macro—of agricultural, livestock,and marine products and their processed food materials, the following three research groups have been
established with a view toward developing ground-breaking crop production engineering and functional foods
that truly work on humans.

For details, please see

Unit Head
Professor

SHIRAI Yasuhito

For details, please see

Research Groups

Research Groups

・Agrobio Research Group・Functional Food Material Intestinal
Dynamics Research Group・Functional Food Material Disposition
Research Group・Prokaryotic Smart-Cell Research Group・Eukaryotic Smart-Cell Research Group・CO2 Direct Conversion Research Group

Chemical and Process Research Unit

Biologics Research Unit
Application of Biopharmaceutical Research Findings to the Development of
New Modalities, Complex Peptide Drugs and Nucleic Acid Medicines, and Nanoparticles
Biologics is a pharmaceuticals produced using animal cells, etc., and is characterized by its complicatedstructure compared to small molecules. In recent years, Biopharmaceuticals represented by antibody drugs
has been in the limelight.
Recently, the main research subject is shifting to "next-generation antibody drugs," "gene therapy drugs,"
and "cell drugs" for cell therapy, which are developed under the same ICH guidelines. And this department isconducting research focusing on these manufacturing process.
Furthermore, we are also approaching peptide drugs and nanotechnology + nucleic acid drugs to which
research methods similar to biopharmaceutical production can be applied.

Establishment of Novel Bioprocesses
Through the Integration of Chemical Processes and Bioprocesses
Unit Head
Professor

UCHIDA Kazuhisa

For details, please see

Research Groups

・Therapeutic Antibody, Gene Therapy and
Peptide Pharmaceutical Research Group・Virus Safety Research Group・Medical Nanoparticle and Nucleic Acid Medicine
Research Group

This research unit is working on chemical processes that optimize substance production and bioprocessoptimization.
For chemical processes, we are aiming at the selective conversion of high-value-added components by way ofthermal/chemical conversion of biomass.
For bioprocesses, we are taking dual approaches (experiments and theories) to the analysis of mixing
characteristics and mass transfer—elemental technologies in chemical engineering needed for microbial
fermentation.
We are also studying membrane separation technology, which is necessary to refine fermented products. Our
ultimate goal is to integrate these elemental technologies to build a seamless biorefinery process.

Research Groups

Unit Head
Professor

OGINO Chiaki

For details, please see

・Biomass Pretreatment andComponent Separation Research Group・Chemical Process Research Group・Bioprocess Research Group・Membrane Separation Research GroupResearch Activities

Advanced Platform Technology Development Unit

【Large-Scale Research Projects】

Development and Provision of Platform Technologies
That Give Rise to Breakthroughs
This development unit seeks to develop fundamental technologies that have the potential to serve as acollective life science platform for the future.
We are working to establish and provide diverse cutting-edge technology platforms, including genome editing
and synthesis technologies for rewriting bio-designs, metabolome analysis for investigating the metabolites
of living organisms all at once, measurement of the dynamic response of interfaces by frequency modulation
atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM), which boasts the world's highest force resolution in a submerged
environment, and biofoundries, which realize high-throughput life design by integrating computational
technology and automation in addition to these technologies.

Unit Head
Professor

NISHIDA Keiji

For details, please see

NEDO Development of Bio-Derived Product Production Technology That
Accelerates the Realization of Carbon Recycling
Creation of New Enzyme Resources from Database Space（2020–2026）
KONDO Akihiko, HASUNUMA Tomohisa

Vavricka, CJ., Yoshida, T., Kuriya, Y., Takahashi, S., Ogawa, T., Ono, F.,
Agari, K., Kiyota, H., Li, J., Ishii, J., Tsuge, K., Minami, H., Araki, M.,
Hasunuma, T., Kondo, A. (2019) Mechanism-based tuning of insect
3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde synthase for synthetic bioproductionof benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. Nature Communications, 10, 2015

JST A-STEP
Development of Production Technology for Carotenoid Pigments fromMicroalgae（2016-2021）
HASUNUMA Tomohisa

Guirimand, G., Kulagina, N., Papon, N., Hasunuma, T.*, Courdavault, V.*(2020) Innovative tools and strategies for optimizing yeast cell factories.
Trends in Biotechnology, in press

NEDO Development of Production Techniques for Highly Functional
Biomaterials Using Plant and Other Organism Smart Cells
Development of Information Analysis System That Contributes to The
Creation of Highly Productive Microorganisms（2016-2020）
KONDO Akihiko, HASUNUMA Tomohisa, ISHII Jun,TSUGE Kenji, SAKAI Kanae
MEXT Creation of Innnovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary
Research Areas Program
Innovative BioProduction Kobe (iBioK)（2008-2018）
Dean：KONDO Akihiko，Vice Dean: YOSHIDA Ken-ichi
AMED Project Focused on Fundamental Technology Development for
Industrialization of Regenerative Medicine and Gene Therapy
Development of Advanced Analytical Techniques in New Mass
Production Technology for Gene and Cell Therapy Vectors（2018-2023）
UCHIDA Kazuhisa

Research Groups

・Advanced Metrology Research Group・Genome Editing Research Group・Genome Synthesis Research Group・Biofoundry Research Group・Advanced Metabolomics Research Group

Bioeconomy Research Unit

AMED Project Focused on Developing Key Technology for Discoveringand Manufacturing Drugs for Next-Generation Treatment andDiagnosis, Development of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for
Biologics（2018-2020）
KONDO Akihiko, ISHII Jun, TSUGE Kenji, NAKAMURA Yasuyuki,
NISHIMURA Yuya, SASAKI Daisuke

Zhang, S., Wakai, S., Sasakura, N., Tsutsumi, H., Hata, Y., Ogino, C.,
Kondo, A. (2020) Pyruvate metabolism redirection for biologicalproduction of commodity chemicals in aerobic fungus Aspergillus
oryzae. Metabolic Engineering, 61, 225-237
Inokuma, K., Kurono, H., den Haan, R., van Zyl, W. H., Hasunuma, T.,
Kondo, A. (2020) Novel strategy for anchorage position control of
GPI-attached proteins in the yeast cell wall using different
GPI-anchoring domains. Metabolic Engineering, 57, 110-117
Bamba, T., Yukawa, T., Guirimand, G., Inokuma, K., Sasaki, K.,
Hasunuma, T., Kondo, A. (2019) Production of 1,2,4-butanetriol fromxylose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae through Fe metabolic engineering.
Metabolic Engineering, 56: 17-27
Schmetz, Q., Teramura, H., Morita, K., Oshima, T., Richel, A., Ogino, C.,
Kondo, A. (2019) Versatility of a dilute acid/butanol pretreatment
investigated on various lignocellulosic biomasses to produce lignin,monosaccharides and cellulose in distinct phases. ACS Sustainable
Chemistry & Engineering, 7(13), 11069-11079
Guirimand, G., Inokuma, K., Bamba, T., Matsuda, M., Morita, K., Sasaki,K., Ogino, C., Berrin, JG., Hasunuma, T., Kondo, A. (2019) Cell-surface
display technology and metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae for enhancing xylitol production from woody biomass. Green
Chemistry, 21, 1795-1808

JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)Water Oxidation on Semiconductor Photocatalysts: How Completed
under Dilute Photon Flux（2020-2022）
ONISHI Hiroshi

Hasunuma, T., Matsuda, M., Kato, Y., Vavricka, CJ., Kondo, A. (2018)
Temperature enhanced succinate production concurrent with increased
central metabolism turnover in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp.
PCC 6803, Metabolic Engineering, 48, 109-120

NEDO Development of Common Basic Technology for Plant Productivity
Control
Establishment of a Domestic Technology Platform for Genome Editing（2016-2020）
NISHIDA Keiji, FUJIKURA Ushio, MITSUNOBU Hitoshi, KATAYAMA Kenta

Ito, Y., Terai, G., Ishigami, M., Hashiba, N., Nakamura, Y., Bamba, T.,
Kumokita, R., Hasunuma, T., Asai, K., Ishii, J.*, Kondo, A. * (2020)
Exchange of endogenous and heterogeneous yeast terminators in Pichia
pastoris to tune mRNA stability and gene expression, Nucleic Acids
Research, 48(22), 13000-13012
Yusa, K., Yuan, Y. Uchida, K. (2020) Viral safety testing forbiopharmaceuticals: Current and future prospects. Translational andRegulatory Sciences, 2(3), 94-99

Contributing to the Realization of the Bioeconomy
Through Investigation and Research on Innovation
The concept of “bioeconomy” is gaining traction.
Today, we are said to be in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution, a time during which the Internet of Things (IoT),
artificial intelligence (AI), and big data are reshaping industrial structures.
One of the drawbacks of economic growth is the deterioration of the global environment due to the mass consumption offossil resources. A serious challenge in modern society is finding a way to achieve economic growth in a sustainable
manner, and it has recently become more of a real possibility that biological resources will be the solution to this challenge.
The idea of balancing economic growth with measures to protect the global environment through the integrated use of
biological resources, biotechnology, and digital platforms encompasses a wide variety of research and development
projects, industrial policies, and economic activities, all designed to achieve a “bioeconomy.” (See the figure below)
Behind this balancing act are striking technological innovations in the field of synthetic biology, such as genome editing andDNA synthesis, and those in the field of digital technology, such as theadvent of a next-generation sequencer, which has dramatically increased
the efficiency of genomic analysis, and rapid progress in AI and
automation.
The fusion of digital technology and biotechnology, both of which havemade rapid progress in recent years, is ushering in what could be called
the fifth industrial revolution, as it has elucidated the phenomenon of lifeand made it possible to apply biological functions to industrial
applications.
Nevertheless, it takes more than the combination of these cutting-edge
technologies to make bioeconomy a reality. What is essential here areentrepreneurs who will lead technological breakthroughs to innovations
that will create both economic and social value and a strategy conceived
from economic and management points of view. This research unit aims tocontribute to the creation of bioeconomy through research and investigation
focused on the creation of innovation in the advanced bioengineering field.

【Articles】

Araki, Y.; Sekine, T.; Chang, R.; Hayashi, T.; Onishi, H. (2018)
Molecular-Scale Structures of Surface and Hydration of Bioinert
Mixedcharged Self-Assembled Monolayers Investigated by the
Frequency Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy. RSC Advances, 8,24660-24664.

Unit Head
Professor

YAMAMOTO Kazuhiko

Sakata, RC., Ishiguro, S., Mori, H., Tanaka, M., Tatsuno, K., Ueda, H.,
Yamamoto, S., Seki, M., Masuyama, N., Nishida, K., Nishimasu, H.,
Arakawa, K., Kondo, A., Nureki, O., Tomita, M., Aburatani, H., Yachie, N.
(2020) Base editors for simultaneous introduction of C-to-T and A-to-G
mutations. Nature Biotechnology. Jul;38(7):865-869.
Banno, S., Nishida, K., Arazoe, T., Mitsunobu, H., Kondo, A. (2018)
Deaminase-mediated multiplex genome editing in Escherichia coli.
Nature Microbiology 3, 423-429

For details, please see

Hillson, N., Caddick, M., Cai, Y., Carrasco, JA., Chang, MW., Curach, NC.,
Bell, DJ., Le Feuvre, R., Friedman, DC., Fu, X., Gold, ND., Herrgård, MJ.,
Holowko, MB., Johnson, JR., Johnson, RA., Keasling, JD., Kitney, RI.,
Kondo, A., Liu, C., Martin, VJJ., Menolascina, F., Ogino, C., Patron, NJ.,
Pavan, M., Poh, CL., Pretorius, IS., Rosser, SJ., Scrutton, NS., Storch, M.,
Tekotte, H., Travnik, E., Vickers, CE., Yew, WS., Yuan, Y., Zhao, H.,
Freemont, PS. (2019) Building a global alliance of biofoundries. Nature
Communications, 10(1): 2040
Vavricka, CJ., Hasunuma, T., Kondo, A. (2020) Dynamic metabolomics
for engineering biology: Accelerating learning cycles for bioproduction,
Trends in Biotechnology, 38(1), 68-82

websitehttp://www.egbrc.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/project/index.html

For details,
please see