Osamu Shimomura

Osamu Shimomura (下 村 修Japanese, Osamu Shimomura, born August 27, 1928 in Kyoto ) is a Japanese biochemist and together with Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2008.

Life and work

Shimomura graduated in Pharmacy in 1951 from Nagasaki and was then four years assistant to Shungo Yasunaga at the pharmacy department of the University of Nagasaki. In 1955 he moved to organic chemistry to the laboratory by Yoshimasa Hirata Nagoya University. In 1960 he received his doctorate for his studies on the luciferin Cypridina to the doctor in organic chemistry. He then went to Frank Johnson at Princeton University. After an unscheduled Professor of Earth Sciences from 1963 to 1965 at the University of Nagoya, he finally went to the United States: 1965 to 1982 he conducted research at Princeton University. 1982 to 2001 he was honorary professor at Boston University and a researcher at the Marine Biological Laboratory Woods Hole. Since 2001 he runs his private photoprotein Laboratory.

Shimomura works in the field of bioluminescence, especially of marine organisms. From 1955 he studied the blue glow of Cypridina whose luciferin he could crystallize in 1956. In 1961 he discovered aequorin and the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. He dedicated his life almost entirely Another research exploring the properties of these two molecules. To view the structure of aequorin - that shows the presence of Ca2 Chemiluminescence - to examine more closely, he had to catch it and win the blue fluorescent molecule AF -350 two and a half tons of jellyfish ( about 50,000 animals). Later, he developed semi-synthetic Aequorinmoleküle with enhanced calcium sensitivity. After it was Martin Chalfie 1994 managed to bring the aequorin gene in other organisms for expression, larger quantities were available, so that Shimomura in 2000 was finally able to determine the structure of aequorin by crystal structure analysis. In 1974, he was with the help of staff explain the transport of energy from aequorin to GFP, and 1979 to determine the structure of the CFP.

Shimomura is married with Akemi Shimomura. His son Tsutomo Shimomura 's computer security expert.

Publications

In addition to many scientific papers he published the book

  • Bioluminescence. Chemical Principles and Methods. World Scientific, New Jersey, London 2006, ISBN 978-981-256-801-4

Awards

  • 2004 Pearse Prize ( Royal Microscopic Society)
  • 2005 Emile Chamot Award (State Microscopical Society of Illinois )
  • 2007 Asahi Prize ( Asahi Shimbun)
  • 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  • 2008 Appointment to Bunka Kōrōsha, the person with special cultural merits
Roger Y. Tsien Digital Object Identifier FEBS Letters Integrated Authority File
624509
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