Patents by Inventor Yoshimi Kikuchi

Yoshimi Kikuchi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20100173368
    Abstract: An Escherichia bacterium having dihydrodipicolinate synthase and aspartokinase, both of which are desensitized to feedback inhibition by L-lysine. The intracellular activity of dihydrodipicolinate reductase in this bacterium can also be enhanced. Furthermore, a diaminopimelate dehydrogenase gene can be introduced into this bacterium, or intracellular activities of tetrahydrodipicolinate succinylase and succinyl diaminopimelate deacylase can be enhanced. Finally, the intracellular activities of aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase or phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase can be enhanced in this bacterium. The bacterium can be cultured in a suitable medium to produce and accumulate L-lysine in culture, and the L-lysine is collected from the culture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2010
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Inventors: Kazuo Nakanishi, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Junichiro Kojima, Tomoko Suzuki, Yasushi Nishimura, Hiroyuki Kojima
  • Publication number: 20100159560
    Abstract: The present invention provides a neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes which selectively cleaves a pro-structure part of a microbial protransglutaminase and a gene encoding said neutral metalloprotease. An active microbial transglutaminase having the pro-structure part cleaved can be obtained by culturing a microorganism into which a gene encoding the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes according to the present invention has been introduced, where by producing the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes, and reacting it on a microbial protransglutaminase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2010
    Publication date: June 24, 2010
    Inventors: Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Norimasa Onishi
  • Patent number: 7723081
    Abstract: An Escherichia bacterium (1) which harbors dihydrodipicolinate synthase of which feedback inhibition by L-lysine is desensitized and aspartokinase of which feedback inhibition by L-lysine is desensitized, (2) in which intracellular activity of dihydrodipicolinate reductase is enhanced, and (3) in which a diaminopimelate dehydrogenase gene is introduced or intracellular activities of tetrahydrodipicolinate succinylase and succinyl diaminopimelate deacylase are enhanced, wherein intracellular activity of aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase or phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase is enhanced, is cultured in a suitable medium to produce and accumulate L-lysine in culture, and the L-lysine is collected from the culture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuo Nakanishi, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Junichiro Kojima, Tomoko Suzuki, Yasushi Nishimura, Hiroyuki Kojima
  • Patent number: 7723067
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for secretory production of a foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase by a coryneform bacterium. According to the present invention, a process is provided for the secretory production of a foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase, by making a coryneform bacterium to produce an industrially useful foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase and efficiently release the product extracellularly (i.e., secretory production).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Hiroshi Matsui
  • Patent number: 7704707
    Abstract: The present invention provides a neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes which selectively cleaves a pro-structure part of a microbial protransglutaminase and a gene encoding said neutral metalloprotease. An active microbial transglutaminase having the pro-structure part cleaved can be obtained by culturing a microorganism into which a gene encoding the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes according to the present invention has been introduced, where by producing the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes, and reacting it on a microbial protransglutaminase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Norimasa Onishi
  • Publication number: 20090289622
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to obtain an ultrathin angle detector by disposing an annular rotor board face to face with stator windings of a plurality of stators provided on an annular stator board. An angle detector according to the present invention is constructed by providing magnetic cores and the stator windings on the respective stators provided on a surface of the annular stator board via slots, and disposing a corrugated curved surface formed on a board inner surface of the annular rotor board face to face with the stators so as to obtain an angular signal that changes according to a sinusoidal waveform.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2007
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Kanji Kitazawa, Hisashi Mimura, Masahito Okada, Yonezo Kubota
  • Publication number: 20090033320
    Abstract: In an angle detector according to the present invention, a magnetic rotor is rotated while being face-to-face between a pair of magnetic stator strips of each of magnetic stator portions provided separately to an annular stator frame, so high-accuracy detection is carried out irrespective of decentering of a rotary shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2007
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Kanji Kitazawa, Hisashi Mimura
  • Publication number: 20080160575
    Abstract: By culturing a methanol-assimilating bacterium which harbors a DNA construct which contains a promoter sequence that functions in the methanol-assimilating bacterium and a nucleotide sequence that encodes a polypeptide containing a signal sequence and an objective protein which is functionally connected to the promoter sequence, in a liquid medium containing methanol as a major carbon source, the bacterium is allowed to secrete the objective protein, and the secreted objective protein is recovered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Applicant: Ajinomoto Co. Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroshi ITAYA, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date
  • Publication number: 20070184525
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for efficiently producing an industrially useful protein in coryneform bacteria, and more particularly, a method for efficiently producing a protein for which secretion was difficult using conventional protein secretion pathways. In particular, the present invention provides a method for efficiently producing heterologous proteins comprising culturing coryneform bacteria containing an genetic construction containing a promoter sequence which functions in coryneform bacteria, a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Tat system-dependent signal peptide region, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding a heterologous protein, in the direction from 5?-end to 3?-end, and secretory producing the heterologous protein by coryneform bacteria.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Publication date: August 9, 2007
    Inventors: Masayo Date, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Hiroshi Itaya, Nami Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7252972
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a heterologous protein by making a coryneform bacterium to produce and efficiently extracellularly secrete (secreto-production) an industrially useful heterologous protein. According to the present invention, a genetic construct is used where a gene sequence encoding an intended protein which is ligated to the downstream of a sequence encoding the signal peptide derived from a coryneform bacterium, the gene construct is introduced into a mutant coryneform bacterium which has a capacity of secreting the heterologous protein at least 2-fold higher than the wild type Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13869, the mutant coryneform bacterium is cultured and the extracellularly released heterologous protein is recovered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Haruo Heima, Hiroshi Matsui
  • Publication number: 20060019367
    Abstract: The present invention provides a neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes which selectively cleaves a pro-structure part of a microbial protransglutaminase and a gene encoding said neutral metalloprotease. An active microbial transglutaminase having the pro-structure part cleaved can be obtained by culturing a microorganism into which a gene encoding the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes according to the present invention has been introduced, where by producing the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes, and reacting it on a microbial protransglutaminase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2005
    Publication date: January 26, 2006
    Inventors: Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Norimasa Onishi
  • Publication number: 20040126847
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a heterologous protein by making a coryneform bacterium to produce and efficiently extracellularly secrete (secreto-production) an industrially useful heterologous protein. According to the present invention, a genetic construct is used where a gene sequence encoding an intended protein which is ligated to the downstream of a sequence encoding the signal peptide derived from a coryneform bacterium, the gene construct is introduced into a mutant coryneform bacterium which has a capacity of secreting the heterologous protein at least 2-fold higher than the wild type Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13869, the mutant coryneform bacterium is cultured and the extracellularly released heterologous protein is recovered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Publication date: July 1, 2004
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Haruo Heima, Hiroshi Matsui
  • Publication number: 20040092599
    Abstract: A guanidine derivative containing an amido group, represented by 1
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 8, 2002
    Publication date: May 13, 2004
    Applicant: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Ryosuke Yumioka, Hirofumi Yokota, Hiroshi Matsui, Yukiko Mori, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Norimasa Onishi
  • Publication number: 20040086985
    Abstract: A recombinant wherein an arginine decarboxylase gene (adi) was amplified and expressed is created by genetic engineering means, and the recombinant, or arginine decarboxylase or an arginine decarboxylase-containing material obtained from the recombinant, is used to decarboxylate arginine to produce agmatine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2002
    Publication date: May 6, 2004
    Applicant: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Matsui, Yukiko Mori, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Norimasa Onishi
  • Patent number: 6664670
    Abstract: An automatic balancing apparatus may be mounted in a rotator body such as a spindle motor having a rotary shaft defining an axis of rotation. The automatic balancing apparatus has a plurality of balancing members rotatable about the axis of rotation in a non-contact manner. Each of the balancing members has a balance action section spaced a distance in a radial direction from the axis of rotation and a connection section that rotatably couples the balance action section to the axis of rotation. The balance action section has a mass that effects a balance correction action to cancel a rotational unbalance of the rotator body when the rotator body rotates at a rotational speed that exceeds a resonant rotational speed CR thereof. The connection section has a mass that substantially does not affect the balance correction action compared to the balance action section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Sankyo Seiki Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Daisuke Higuchi
  • Patent number: 6579699
    Abstract: A method for producing a fermentative product by utilizing a microorganism, the method comprising culturing the microorganism in a medium to produce and accumulate the fermentative product in the medium, and collecting the fermentative product, wherein the microorganism expresses a heat shock protein derived from a hyperthermophilic archaeon strain KOD-1 in a cell of the microorganism by introduction of a gene coding for the heat shock protein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Osamu Kurahashi, Kenzo Yokozeki, Takashi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20030082746
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for secretory production of a foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase by a coryneform bacterium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Publication date: May 1, 2003
    Applicant: AJINOMOTO CO. INC
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Masayo Date, Yukiko Umezawa, Keiichi Yokoyama, Hiroshi Matsui
  • Patent number: 6492750
    Abstract: A cylindrical case provided with a chamber is coaxially attached to a rotary shaft of a motor. A plurality of balancers are movably provided within the chamber so as to cancel a rotation eccentricity of the motor. A viscous member such as high viscosity fluid is provided on at least one of the surfaces of the balancers and an inner face of the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Daisuke Higuchi, Kian Hock Yeoh
  • Patent number: 6479912
    Abstract: An automatic balancing apparatus which includes a support shaft which is rotated by a drive; a case body which is fixed to the support shaft and which rotates together with the support shaft; a ring magnet which is placed at the inside corner, in the radial direction, of an inner space of the case body; and a balancing member. The balancing member further includes a plurality of magnetic bodies which are movable in the inner space of the case body and which can be drawn up by the magnetic field of the ring magnet. When the rotational frequency of a rotor, which rotates together with the case body, exceeds the resonant frequency, the automatic balancing apparatus reduces vibrations of the rotor; and the outer circumference of the ring magnet has a flat portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2002
    Assignee: Sankyo Seiki Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Daisuke Higuchi, Yeoh Kian Hock
  • Publication number: 20020047337
    Abstract: An automatic balancing apparatus may be mounted in a rotator body such as a spindle motor having a rotary shaft defining an axis of rotation. The automatic balancing apparatus has a plurality of balancing members rotatable about the axis of rotation in a non-contact manner. Each of the balancing members has a balance action section spaced a distance in a radial direction from the axis of rotation and a connection section that rotatably couples the balance action section to the axis of rotation. The balance action section has a mass that effects a balance correction action to cancel a rotational unbalance of the rotator body when the rotator body rotates at a rotational speed that exceeds a resonant rotational speed CR thereof. The connection section has a mass that substantially does not affect the balance correction action compared to the balance action section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2001
    Publication date: April 25, 2002
    Applicant: SANKYO SEIKI MFG.CO.LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshimi Kikuchi, Daisuke Higuchi