Keisuke Tubaki was a Japanese mycologist.

Early life and education

Tubaki studied for his first degree at the

Tokyo University of Agriculture The , abbreviated as Nodai (農大, ''nōdai'') or Tokyo nodai (東京農大, ''Tōkyō nōdai''), is a private university of agriculture in Japan. There are three campuses: Setagaya, Atsugi, and Okhotsk (Abashiri). Outline Tokyo University ...

, graduating in 1948. He was awarded a doctorate from

Hiroshima University is a Japanese national university located in Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, Japan. Established in 1929, it was chartered as a university in 1949 following the merge of a number of national educational institutions. History Under the Nationa ...

in 1959 for his research on Hyphomycetes.

Career

He was employed at the Nagao Institute from 1948. From 1961 he worked at the Institute for Fermentation in Osaka, rising to be the deputy director in 1974. In 1976 he became a professor at the new

University of Tsukuba is a public university, public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Pro ...

. He retired in 1988, but then started teaching at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

until 1994. He also held a visiting professorship at

until 1995. He was an emeritus professor of the University of Tsukuba after his retirement and continued his involvement in mycological research. Tubaki was particularly interested in the presence and biological activities of fungi in the environment. The breadth of these interests ranged from fungal surveys including identification of novel species, enzyme production by fungi in the environment to collaborations to identify novel metabolites of fungi that parasitised other fungi. His studies of fungal taxonomy included ways to improve identification methods. In the early 1960s he was involved in development of the Hughes–Tubaki–Barron System for classification of anamorphic fungi that was in use from 1968 onwards, in collaboration with

Stanley Hughes Stanley Hughes (1918–2019) was a Canadian scientist who is known throughout the global field of mycology for developing and introducing a precise and meticulous system for classifying fungi that is still used today. A naturalized Canadian, he w ...

and G.L. Barron. This was based on the mechanism of conidial development, viewed using light and electron microscopy, rather than relying on the final form of the conidia alone. This was a step in improving understanding of the fungal species that do not undertake sexual reproduction and is still of practical value in fungal identification. He made a particular study of

Hyphomycetes Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds (or molds). Most hyphom ...

. As molecular methods began to be applied to fungal systematics, Tubaki became involved in projects that used this methodology to study fungal phylogenetic relationships.

Publications

Tubaki was the author or co-author of over 60 scientific publications.

Honours and awards

Tubaki was president of the Mycological Society of Japan from 1985 until 1987. The

International Mycological Association The International Mycological Association (IMA) is a professional organization that promotes mycology, the study of fungi. It was founded in 1971 during the first International Mycological Congress, which was held in Exeter (UK). The IMA publis ...

named the Keisuke Tubaki Medal after him, awarded for achievement by an Early Career Researcher based in Asia. In 1993 he was awarded the 3rd Minakata Kumagusu Award from Tanabe City and the Minakata Kumagusu Preservation Society for his lifetime mycological achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubaki, Keisuke 1924 births 2005 deaths Mycologists Japanese mycologists Hiroshima University alumni Academic staff of the University of Tsukuba Academic staff of Nihon University Academic staff of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology