CSEAS > Archives > About Staff： FY2006 > NISHIBUCHI, Mitsuaki (Professor)

NISHIBUCHI, Mitsuaki

Professor
Division of Integrated Area Studies
B. Agr. in Fisheries, Hiroshima University, 1976
Ph. D. in Microbiology, Oregon State University, 1983

Current Research Interests

Elucidation of interrelationships between the natural environment and human activities (cultural, social, economic, etc.) specific to Asia through analysis of enteric infections
Prevention of cholera among children in Asia by utilizing symbiotic bacteria

A new type of Vibrio parahaemolyticus that is responsible for a pandemic spread of infections: Demonstration by DNA fingerprinting method (right) that the bacterial strains isolated from bivalves harvested from the aquatic environment of southern Thailand (left) are identical with human strains.

Most bacteria responsible for enteric infections inhabit natural environments, but they are sparsely distributed. However, the eutrophication of environments due to increases in human population, human activities, and climate change stimulates bacterial propagation. The propagated bacteria can cause infection through consumption of water and food. Culture - including hygienic concepts, eating habits, ritual ceremonies, and other factors - can influence the frequency of contact between the bacteria and humans. Humans differ in their resistance to infection by the pathogenic bacteria due to differences in their immunity induced by past infections. Once infected, humans become “culture bottles of the pathogen” and bacteria propagated there are released into the environments. Political and economic activities such as the movement of labor harboring pathogens and the import/export of food contaminated with pathogens mediate the spread of infections. As such, we can look at the human-nature interaction through an analysis of the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Molecular epidemiological tools such as DNA fingerprinting can be a very powerful tool in the analysis, helping to prove in a objective manner the subjective hypothesis put forward in field study. The puzzles I have been collaborating with scientists in Asia to solve are infections caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibriocholerae, and Escherichia coli O157.

Research Activities in 2006 Fiscal Year

Publications

Cabanillas-Beltran, H., E. Llausas-Magana, R. Romero, A. Espinoza, A. Garcia-Gasca, M. Nishibuchi, M. Ishibashi, and Gomez Gil, B. 2006. Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Caused by the pandemic Vibrio parahaemolyticus O3:K6 in Mexico. FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 265(1):76-80.

Vuddhakul, V., S. Soboon, W. Sunghiran, S. Kaewpiboon, A. Chowdhury, M. Ishibashi, Y. Nakaguchi, and M. Nishibuchi. 2006. Distribution of virulent and pandemic strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in three molluscan shellfish species (Meretrix meretrix, Perna viridis, and Anadara granosa) and their association with foodborne disease in southern Thailand. J. Food. Prot.　69(11):2615-2620.

Pavathi, A.; Kumar, H.S.; Bhanumathi, A.; Ishibashi, M.; Nishibuchi, M.; Karunasagar, I.; and Karunasagar, I... 2006. Molecular Characterisation of Thermostable Direct Haemolysin-Related Haemolysin (TRH)-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus from Oysters in Mangalore, India. Environmental Microbiology 8(6): 997-1004.

Nishibuchi, M.; 2006. Molecular identification. In The Biology of Vibrios. Edited by Thompson, F. L.; Austin, B.; Swings, J.; Wasington, D.C. ASM Press.: pp. 44-64.

Nishibuchi, M.; 2006. Miscellaneous Human Pathogens. In The Biology of Vibrios. Edited by Thompson, F. L.; Austin, B.; and Swings, J. Wasington, D.C. ASM Press.: pp. 367-381.

Koitabashi, T.; Vuddhakul, V. ; Radu, S.; Morigaki, T.; Asai, N.; Nakaguchi, Y.; and Nishibuchi, M. 2006. Genetic Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7/- Strains Carrying the stx₂ Gene but not Producing Shiga Toxin 2. Microbiol. Immunol. 50(2): 135-148.

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