This is my first time to Japan, so I am very excited. When I arrived at the NIG, I was surprised that it is on a hill instead of in a big and busy city. However, I liked this peaceful environment very much and I could see the Mt. Fuji(富士山) from here. The first time when meeting the Miyagishima san and other lab members, I was a little anxious to introduce myself. Meantime, I wondered whether the Miyagishima san was the boss because he just looked so young.

The laboratory proceeds researches on symbiosis and cell evolution using algae. All of the members in the lab were friendly and willing to help me in any aspects. The atmosphere in lab was good, and I enjoyed this a lot. All of the people worked very hard, on which I was really impressed. So I think I was very lucky to be distributed to this lab.

After a few days, the NIG made a program, which took us to visit other labs in NIG and made each lab introduce itself in detail. There, I learned many kinds of labs in NIG and understood more about the researches they were working on. What amazed me as well were the facilities in the institute. These were all the things that broadened my mind.

Then I started to work on my project. My topic is “Development of heat and acid-tolerant algae for biofuel production”. Everyone knows that we will finally run out of petroleum in the near decades. As a result, scientists want to use biofuel for substitution. Therefore, we want to implement the efficiency of open ponds by making green algae becoming dominant and reducing other contaminants. Most organisms cannot grow in high temperature and acid environment. That is the reason why we want to cultivate heat and acid-tolerant algae. The material I used is Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. It is a kind of model organism and genetically tractable. Moreover, it can produce triacylglycerol (TAG) under nitrogen deficiency. First, I search for some candidate genes, and I chose these BADH, TPS, TPP, P5CS, Hsp 20 and APX. The products of these genes can promote heat and acid-tolerant ability of plants which had been proved on some papers. I extracted mRNA from Chlamydomonas, except the Hsp20 is extracted from Cyanidio shyzon, a hot spring alga, by company. I used mRNA to synthesize cDNA by PCR. Then, I inserted these cDNA into the multiple colony sits of plasmid Chlamy_1 and make transformation into Chlamydomonas by electroporation. Finally, I cultivated these Chlamydomonas in higher temperature about 37 to 39 and evaluated the effects. Although it was busy, I was happy to do experiments. By the way, after the presentation was over, I still went to the lab to offer some help for the other members, for I still enjoyed the atmosphere there very much.

In addition to my laboratory project, I also had a lot of cultural experiences about Japan. I have eaten the Japanese foods such as Ramen(拉麵), miso soup(味噌 汁) and nattō (納豆). Although nattō has special smell and tasted sticky, I think it tasted not so bad. In contrast to Taiwan, the fruit here is more expensive but the milk is cheaper, which surprised me. Japan also has all kinds of foods made from fishes. In addition to the foods, I have visited the mishimataisha(三嶋大社),a Japanese shrine in the mishima. There is full of the traditional buildings and classic Japanese atmosphere. The miko (巫女), a special women serving the Japanese gods, is also a feature of Japanese cultures. I learned the way of the worshiping Japanese gods, and purchased some amulets for gifts to my friends and family in Taiwan as well. There are some deer raised by the people of the mishimataisha, and they are so cute!

Another interesting thing was climbing the Mt. Fuji(富士山),which is sacred to the Japanese and the highest mountain in Japan. Other members in the lab took me and another intern to climb the mountain. Seeing the beautiful scenery on the top, we chatted about Japanese life and ate some snacks. The crater of the Mt. Fuji was huge and spectacular. The temperature was cold, but my body was hot. When the sea of clouds flowed, I felt great and peaceful. I will take this feeling as a precious memory forever.

After my presentation was finished, members in the lab held a “Takoyaki(たこ焼き) party” for me to celebrate. In addition to Takoyaki, I ate sushi(寿司) and other Japanese foods. We cheered and chatted about our cultures. It was the best night I ever had and we drew something funny on the whiteboard. This chance of cultural exchange let me know more about Japan. Thank you NIGINTERN committee, General Affairs/Education Team, JASSO for your help and scholarship. As an intern, I appreciate having this opportunity to experience Japanese cultures and I will never forget this wonderful memory in my life.