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The Noda Institute for Scientific Research
(NISR) was established in 1942 on the
basis
of a fund provided by the Noda Soy
Sauce
Co., Ltd. (presently the Kikkoman Corporation)
in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan,
and
approved by the Japanese Ministry of
Education
on January 31st of the same year. The purpose of NISR was
defined in the articles of its establishment
as follows; 'This foundation is intended
to carry out research primarily concerning
fermentation chemistry to advance the
growth
of the industry and, thereby, to contribute
to the development of science, technology,
and culture.'
When we began actual research activities
back in 1946, just after World War
II, the
making of brewed soy sauce was far
from being
understood scientifically. For that
reason,
we decided to concentrate on basic
research
concerning soy sauce. Since then we
have
uncovered the underlying mechanisms
of soy
sauce production, clarifying what microorganisms
are involved and just how they are
involved
in the brewing process of soy sauce.
This
resulted in making it possible to produce
high-quality soy sauce anytime, anywhere,
and contributed not only to the establishment
of Kikkoman's United States factory
in 1973,
but also the other collaborative factories
for soy sauce production constructed
at various
sites in Japan. Therefore, the whole
quality
of soy sauce produced by the Japanese
soy
sauce industry was markedly improved.
Our research interest in microorganisms
for
the production of soy sauce has since
changed
to enzymes produced by microorganisms.
This
has led to the discovery of various
new enzymes,
most of which are now used for clinical
diagnosis.
In addition, research on gene manipulation
began in 1976 and resulted in the development
of a unique host vector system (sleeper
vector),
which allowed for industrial mass production
of desired enzymes. Furthermore, on
the basis
of recent progress in the biotechnology
field,
we are exploring new possibilities
regarding
higher organisms as well as microorganisms.
In 2000, NISR changed the direction
of its
research and focused on the study of
microorganisms
used in soy sauce brewing and also
began
a grant project, which supports a research
fund in the field of applied biology
for
the development of the fermentation
and brewing
industry.
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