Nagase Viita and Okayama University have joined forces to establish the Laboratory of Glycobiology and Phytochemistry. This pioneering industry-academia collaboration aims to advance sustainable agriculture by exploring how plants and bio-compounds interact with their environment.
Nagase Viita and Okayama University Launch Laboratory of Glycobiology and Phytochemistry
OKAYAMA, JAPAN, January 15, 2026
Nagase Viita Co., Ltd., a Japan-based company with 140 years of expertise in glycoscience, and Okayama University, one of the leading academia for sustainability research, launched the Laboratory of Glycobiology and Phytochemistry. This collaboration will discover how plants, their symbiotic microorganisms and bio-compounds interact with the environment to advance sustainable agriculture through cutting-edge glycobiology and phytochemistry research.
Since 2020, the two organizations have partnered on open innovation projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on this foundation, the new course will explore how environmental changes, including global warming, influence plant-microbe interactions and the role of bioactive compounds such as carbohydrates in promoting plant health and resilience.
- Investigating the plant holobiont’s role in maintaining productivity under stress.
- Exploring external application of bio-compounds to enhance plant growth and yield.
- Developing high-throughput screening assays to evaluate bio-compound functionality.
“We proposed this collaborative program to evolve our sustainable research into a unique global initiative,” said Jiro Kishimoto, Executive Officer at Nagase Viita. “Through this course, we aim to foster pioneering research bridging academic perspectives with visionary industrial innovation.”
Currently, agricultural science is one of the main focus areas of Nagase Viita. Trehalose, its signature product, is known for its ability to boost the productivity of crops, such as soybeans, by working with symbiotic microorganisms like rhizobia to enhance growth and extend seed storage life.
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