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RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences Laboratory for Symbiotic Microbiome Sciences

Team Leader: Wataru Suda (D.Agr.)

Research Summary

Wataru Suda

All animals, including humans, coexist with microorganisms. This community of symbiotic microorganisms, known as the symbiotic microbiota, is closely related to the physiological functions of the host and has a significant impact on the development of disease. The Laboratory for Symbiotic Microbiome Sciences collects a large amount of data by advancing microbiota observation techniques, including metagenomic analysis, which comprehensively analyzes the genes of microorganisms. Based on the data obtained, we are working to discover symbiotic microorganisms involved in disease pathogenesis and homeostasis maintenance, elucidate their mechanisms of action, and understand the universal properties of the symbiotic microbiota.

Main Research Fields

  • Biological Sciences

Related Research Fields

  • Applied microbiology-related
  • Bacteriology-related
  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacy
  • Informatics
  • Biology
  • Complex Systems

Selected Publications

  • 1. Aiyoshi T, Kakihara T, Watanabe E, Tanaka N, Ogata Y, Masuoka H, Kurokawa R, Fujishiro J, Masumoto K, Suda W.:
    "A comprehensive microbial analysis of pediatric patients with acute appendicitis."
    J. Microbiol. Immunol. Infect. S1684-1182(23)00074-9 (2023)
  • 2. Kawamoto S, Uemura K, Hori N, Takayasu L, Konishi Y, Katoh K, Matsumoto T, Suzuki M, Sakai Y, Matsudaira T, Adachi T, Ohtani N, Standley DM, Suda W, Fukuda S, Hara E.:
    "Bacterial induction of B cell senescence promotes age-related changes in the gut microbiota."
    Nat. Cell Biol. 25(6):865-876 (2023)
  • 3. Nagata N, Takeuchi T, Masuoka H, Aoki R, Ishikane M, Iwamoto N, Sugiyama M, Suda W, Nakanishi Y, Terada-Hirashima J, Kimura M, Nishijima T, Inooka H, Miyoshi-Akiyama T, Kojima Y, Shimokawa C, Hisaeda H, Zhang F, Yeoh YK, Ng SC, Uemura N, Itoi T, Mizokami M, Kawai T, Sugiyama H, Ohmagari N, Ohno H.:
    "Human Gut Microbiota and Its Metabolites Impact Immune Responses in COVID-19 and Its Complications."
    Gastroenterology 164(2):272-288. (2023)
  • 4. Furuhashi H, Takayasu L, Isshi K, Hara Y, Ono S, Kato M, Sumiyama K, Suda, W.:
    "Effect of storage temperature and flash-freezing on salivary microbiota profiles based on 16S rRNA-targeted sequencing."
    Eur. J. Oral Sci., 130(2), e12852 (2022)
  • 5. Li Y, Watanabe E, Kawashima Y, Plichta DR, Wang Z, Ujike M, Ang QY, Wu R, Furuichi M, Takeshita K, Yoshida K, Nishiyama K, Kearney SM, Suda W, Hattori M, Sasajima S, Matsunaga T, Zhang X, Watanabe K, Fujishiro J, Norman JM, Olle B, Matsuyama S, Namkoong H, Uwamino Y, Ishii M, Fukunaga K, Hasegawa N, Ohara O, Xavier RJ, Atarashi K, Honda K.:
    "Identification of trypsin-degrading commensals in the large intestine."
    Nature 609(7927):582-589 (2022)
  • 6. Kiguchi Y, Nishijima S, Kumar N, Hattori M, Suda W.:
    "Long-read metagenomics of multiple displacement amplified DNA of low-biomass human gut phageomes by SACRA pre-processing chimeric reads."
    DNA Res. 28(6):dsab019 (2021)
  • 7. Masuoka H, Suda W, Tomitsuka E, Shindo C, Takayasu L, Horwood P, Greenhill AR, Hattori M, Umezaki M, Hirayama K.:
    "The influences of low protein diet on the intestinal microbiota of mice."
    Sci Rep. 10(1):17077 (2020)
  • 8. Miyauchi E, Kim SW, Suda W, Kawasumi M, Onawa S, Taguchi-Atarashi N, Morita H, Taylor TD, Hattori M, Ohno H.:
    "Gut microorganisms act together to exacerbate inflammation in spinal cords."
    Nature 585(7823):102-106 (2020)
  • 9. Takewaki D, Suda W, Sato W, Takayasu L, Kumar N, Kimura K, Kaga N, Mizuno T, Miyake S, Hattori M, Yamamura T.:
    "Alterations of the gut ecological and functional microenvironment in different stages of multiple sclerosis."
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 117(36):22402-22412 (2020)
  • 10. Suzuki Y, Nishijima S, Furuta Y, Yoshimura J, Suda W, Oshima K, Hattori M, Morishita S.:
    "Long-read metagenomic exploration of extrachromosomal mobile genetic elements in the human gut."
    Microbiome 7(1):119 (2019)

Lab Members

Principal investigator

Wataru Suda
Team Leader

Core members

Hiroaki Masuoka
Research Scientist
Rina Kurokawa
Postdoctoral Researcher
Sho Hamaguchi
Junior Research Associate
Naveen Kumar
Senior Technical Staff
Kaoru Kaida
Technical Staff I
Maki Tanokura
Technical Staff I
Chie Shindo
Technical Staff I
Misa Takagi
Technical Staff I

Contact Information

West building (W518),
1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku,
Yokohama City, Kanagawa,
230-0045, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)45-503-9302
Email: wataru.suda [at] riken.jp

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