Dr. Kazuhiko Narisawa
Ibaraki University, Japan
Biography
Kazuhiko Narisawa has a great deal of expertise in the isolation of soil fungi that can be used as a biocontrol against plant pathogens. Dark septate endophytic fungi, or DSE fungi, are not very common in the soil but are often associated with the roots of many plants, forming “symbiotic” relationships. DSE fungi may have great potential as biocontrol agents; however, their specific roles in ecosystems remain speculative. His research is unique in that it not only contributes to solving some of Japan’s agricultural problems, hampered by administrative problems of effectively developing and distributing biocontrol agents against diseases of commercial plants, but also similar agricultural and environmental problems worldwide.