World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Chemistry

D-Index
69
Citations
15999
World Ranking
6235
National Ranking
400

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
69
Citations
15825
World Ranking
7446
National Ranking
502

Overview

Ikuro Abe is affiliated with the University of Tokyo in Japan and has contributed extensively to the field of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. Their work spans several interconnected domains including molecular biology, pharmacology, organic chemistry, materials chemistry, and inorganic chemistry.

The scientist's research focuses primarily on microbial natural products and biosynthesis, an area represented by 144 publications. Other significant topics include plant biochemistry and biosynthesis, metal-catalyzed oxygenation mechanisms, carbohydrate chemistry and synthesis, pharmacogenetics and drug metabolism, crystallization and solubility studies, and X-ray diffraction in crystallography.

Ikuro Abe's publication record includes recent papers such as:

  • Discovery of non-squalene triterpenes, 2022, Nature
  • Chemistry of fungal meroterpenoid cyclases, 2020, Natural Product Reports
  • β-NAD as a building block in natural product biosynthesis, 2021, Nature
  • Identification of a diarylpentanoid-producing polyketide synthase revealing an unusual biosynthetic pathway of 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones in agarwood, 2022, Nature Communications
  • Biosynthesis of alkyne-containing natural products, 2020, RSC Chemical Biology

Their research appears in several high-profile and specialized publication venues including:

  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
  • Faculty Opinions - Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition
  • Angewandte Chemie

Ikuro Abe has frequently collaborated with other researchers. The most notable coauthors include Takahiro Mori, Richiro Ushimaru, Lila M. Gierasch, F. Peter Guengerich, and Ruma Banerjee.

Best Publications

  • ENZYMATIC CYCLIZATION OF SQUALENE AND OXIDOSQUALENE TO STEROLS AND TRITERPENES

    Ikuro. Abe;Michel. Rohmer;Glenn D. Prestwich

  • An environmental bacterial taxon with a large and distinct metabolic repertoire

    Micheal C. Wilson;Tetsushi Mori;Christian Rückert;Agustinus R. Uria

  • Biosynthesis of fungal meroterpenoids

    Yudai Matsuda;Ikuro Abe

  • Structure and function of the chalcone synthase superfamily of plant type III polyketide synthases

    Ikuro Abe;Hiroyuki Morita

  • Enzymatic synthesis of cyclic triterpenes

    Ikuro Abe

  • Reconstitution of a fungal meroterpenoid biosynthesis reveals the involvement of a novel family of terpene cyclases

    Takayuki Itoh;Kinya Tokunaga;Yudai Matsuda;Isao Fujii

  • Complete Biosynthetic Pathway of Anditomin: Nature’s Sophisticated Synthetic Route to a Complex Fungal Meroterpenoid

    Yudai Matsuda;Toshiyuki Wakimoto;Takahiro Mori;Takayoshi Awakawa

  • Green tea polyphenols: novel and potent inhibitors of squalene epoxidase.

    Ikuro Abe;Takahiro Seki;Kaoru Umehara;Toshio Miyase

  • Discovery of non-squalene triterpenes

    Unknown

  • A specific amino acid repeat in squalene and oxidosqualene cyclases

    Karl Poralla;Andreas Hewelt;Glenn D. Prestwich;Ikuro Abe

  • Engineered biosynthesis of plant polyketides: chain length control in an octaketide-producing plant type III polyketide synthase.

    Ikuro Abe;Satoshi Oguro;Yoriko Utsumi;Yukie Sano

  • Astellifadiene: Structure Determination by NMR Spectroscopy and Crystalline Sponge Method, and Elucidation of its Biosynthesis.

    Yudai Matsuda;Takaaki Mitsuhashi;Shoukou Lee;Manabu Hoshino

  • Benzalacetone synthase. A novel polyketide synthase that plays a crucial role in the biosynthesis of phenylbutanones in Rheum palmatum.

    Ikuro Abe;Yusuke Takahashi;Hiroyuki Morita;Hiroshi Noguchi

  • Inhibitors of squalene biosynthesis and metabolism

    Ikuro Abe;John C. Tomesch;Sompong Wattanasin;Glenn D. Prestwich

  • Characterization of Giant Modular PKSs Provides Insight into Genetic Mechanism for Structural Diversification of Aminopolyol Polyketides.

    Lihan Zhang;Takuya Hashimoto;Bin Qin;Junko Hashimoto

  • Calyculin biogenesis from a pyrophosphate protoxin produced by a sponge symbiont

    Toshiyuki Wakimoto;Yoko Egami;Yu Nakashima;Yukihiko Wakimoto

  • The induction of human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 mediated through a distal enhancer module by flavonoids and xenobiotics.

    Junko Sugatani;Kasumi Yamakawa;Eri Tonda;Shinichi Nishitani

  • Furan fatty acid as an anti-inflammatory component from the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus.

    Toshiyuki Wakimoto;Hikaru Kondo;Hirohiko Nii;Kaori Kimura

  • A Plant Type III Polyketide Synthase that Produces Pentaketide Chromone

    Ikuro Abe;Yoriko Utsumi;Satoshi Oguro;Hiroyuki Morita

  • Spiro-ring formation is catalyzed by a multifunctional dioxygenase in austinol biosynthesis.

    Yudai Matsuda;Takayoshi Awakawa;Toshiyuki Wakimoto;Ikuro Abe

  • Lanosterol synthase mutations cause cholesterol deficiency–associated cataracts in the Shumiya cataract rat

    Masayuki Mori;Guixin Li;Ikuro Abe;Jun Nakayama

Frequent Co-Authors

Glenn D. Prestwich
Glenn D. Prestwich University of Utah
Yutaka Ebizuka
Yutaka Ebizuka University of Tokyo
Yoshinori Asakawa
Yoshinori Asakawa Tokushima Bunri University
Makoto Fujita
Makoto Fujita University of Tokyo
Ushio Sankawa
Ushio Sankawa University of Tokyo
Wen Liu
Wen Liu Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jörn Piel
Jörn Piel ETH Zurich
Mami Yamazaki
Mami Yamazaki Chiba University
Ute Hentschel
Ute Hentschel GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Jörn Kalinowski
Jörn Kalinowski Bielefeld University

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