Synopsis: Tadayasu befriends two students.

Tadayasu and Kei rush to a balcony to find out where the homohiochi are coming from. Tadayasu sees that they’re coming from a room below. In that room, homohiochi float from a huge vat. A man looks into the vat and wonders if there’s something strange about it. His companion takes a look and says there’s nothing wrong about it. The other, however, says it smells weird.

Kei wonders why homohiochi are there. Haruka and Prof. Itsuki come out. Haruka says the building is old so it isn’t used much except for the professor’s lab. Prof. Itsuki comments that there are students who use it anyway.

The men at the room seem to be brewing sake. The short one notices that the floor looks like they are about to collapse. They wonder if sake is supposed to smell weird when brewed. The short one shifts to another location. The part of the floor where he is standing gives way. The rest of the floor collapses and the vat falls, spilling its content.

Tadayasu and the others hear a large thud. Tadayasu says the homohiochi are rushing out. Haruka asks him if he meant the homohiochi (Lactobacillus fructivorans) that spoil sake. Tadayasu nods. The professor explains that the homohiochi belong to the Lactobacillus group. They consume mevalonic acid which yeast produce. They cause trouble to those who brew sake. Prof. Itsuki comments that Kei, who’s family owns a sake brewery, must detest them. When Kei was younger, the sake brewery’s owner committed suicide after homohiochi contaminated all of the sake they produced.

Prof. Itsuki then says that the large number of homohiochi at the building must mean that someone is trying to brew sake illegally. Haruka tells the professor they should check it out. Kei tells Tadayasu they should go too. Tadayasu asks why. As a son of a sake brewer, Kei might not want to see homohiochi. Kei tells him he can’t ignore it.

Tadayasu leads Haruka and the others to where the homohiochi are coming from. Haruka says making sake without a permit is a crime. Tadayasu, however, feels sick as he finds his way to the homohiochi source. They reach a room and when Kei opens it, more of the bacteria rush out. They see a vat lying on the floor.

Prof. Itsuki says sake can’t be made in such an environment. For one, the wooden floor is rotting, it couldn’t support the vat’s weight. He examines around, saying it could be important data. Kei asks Tadayasu where the homohiochi are gathering. Tadayasu tells him that they’re all over the room already. Kei suggests they borrow a burner and incinerate the microbes. He asks if the professor has any alcohol. The professor, however, throws ashes around the room. He explains that ash was once used to restore alcoholic beverages that went bad because of homohiochi. Ash, being basic, neutralizes sake that’s become acidic. He throws more ashes. He then asks Tadayasu if the yeast factory in his hometown use ash to purify yeast. Different methods have now been developed to combat homohiochi but the pesky microbes will always be an enemy to sake brewing.

Tadayasu asks if there’s anything they can clean themselves with as they are all covered with ash. Haruka tells him there’s none. The professor returns to his lab. Haruka tells Tadayasu and Kei they must find the culprit. She leaves too.

Tadayasu suggests to Kei that they go home but Kei orders Tadayasu to mop the floor while he exterminate the homohiochi. He sprinkles ashes around as if possessed.

The two men who brewed the sake illegally come out from hiding. Seeing that Tadayasu and Kei are wearing suits, they ask if they are new students. Tadayasu tells them they are. The bearded man then asks how they were able to identify the homohiochi. Tadayasu points at Kei and tells the men he’s the son of a sake brewer. The two men look at each other. The short one invites Tadayasu and Kei to their dorm, which is inside the campus. He says they need to shower first. Tadayasu agrees. Kei doesn’t say anything.

Prof. Itsuki and Haruka are having a conversation. Prof. Itsuki says that it’s often said sake will turn into vingear but it really doesn’t. The homohiochi create a vinger-like smell in sake so people of old must have thought it turned into vinegar. Haruka then sees Tadayasu and Kei with two men, Misato and Kawahama from second year. Misato Karou often attended summer labs, wanting to learn about brewing. Kawahama Takuma was more interested in biological environments more than the seminars. Haruka comments they are stupid for trying to brew sake in the campus. Prof. Itsuki nods. He says he doesn’t like it if they lead Tadayasu to their side. He accidentally told them about Tadayasu and his ability the other day.

Tadayasu and the others reach a shabby building. Kawahama says it’s their dormitory. The two men let Tadayasu and Kei use their shower. They also lent them a fresh set of clothes. Tadayasu tells Kei that they’ll excuse themselves for a while but Kawahama tells him to wait. He asks if Tadayasu is the guy with the strange ability. They want to talk to him as they are in trouble after the sake was spoilled. Kei shakes his head disapprovingly. He asks why they were trying to make sake in that place. He says brewing that much sake is way beyond the illegal production level. Tadayasu comments that since the sake is all gone, it was a waste of money. Misato says they really need the money. Kawahama offers that they talk more about it in their room. Kei agrees.

Misato and Kawahama’s room is very dirty. Tadayasu sees a lot of germs around. There’s Geotrichum, fungi commonly found in human wastes. (I learned that Geotrichum destroys CD’s, it eats the aluminum in the disk making it partially transparent.)

There’s also Rhizopus japonicus, also known as Rhizophus arrhizus. It causes a disease called zygomycosis. There’s Mucor mucedo, the fluffy white fungi that appear on spoiled fruits and veggies, Aspergillus niger, the most common species of the Aspergillus genus causing black molds on some fruits and vegetables. Interestingly, A. niger being relatives of A. oryzae are designed similar to the latter in Moyashimon, except for the black filaments.

And then there’s Candida albicans which is normally harmless to humans except to immunocompromised patients. Lastly, there’s Cladosporium tricoides and Alternaria alternata. More regarding these two fungi will be discussed later.

Anyway, Misato and Kawahama have money issues. Misato says they were planning to open up a show for the school’s spring festival. They told people that they know how they can make cheap sake and had them gather money. If it went well, they could have paid off the initial expenses with the earnings.

Misato tells Tadayasu that they have a favor to ask of him. Tadaysu asks for ventilation. He tells the two that there are a lot of microbes in the room. Kawahama asks him if he could help them with his ability. Misato asks him if there are new microbes or those that can make them money such as matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake) in the room. Tadayasu tells them that there are only black and green fungi in the room. Misato and Kawahama are disapointed.

Kawahama then says that they can make penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum. He asks Tadayasu if he can distinguish between microbes and cultivate them. Kawahama thinks that if they can get pure penicillin, they can sell it to labs. Misato goes out to ask his biology friends about penicillin. Kawahama begs Tadayasu. He tells him he will give him part of the profit. Tadayasu thinks about it.

Misato returns reporting that green fungi are coming. He begins to quarrel with Kawahama, eventually about their dead silkworm. Tadayasu says it has Cordyceps sinensis, fungi that infects the larvae of a particular caterpillar. It is highly priced in Tibetan and Chinese medicine. A kilogram could be traded for US$3000 to US$15000.

Kei asks Tadayasu how he knew it was C. sinensis. Tadayasu replies Mrs. Sekiguchi from across the bridge near their home used to buy a bottle of C. sinensis medicine. It cost her around 20,000 yen. Tadayasu then tells Misato and Kawahama that if they grow the fungi, they could sell it to traditional medicine practitioners. The two men are overjoyed at the prospect of money. Haruka, however, is observing from outside.

Tadayasu tells Kei that no one’s been happy before because he can see microorganisms. He says he is somehow happy that someone needs his ability.

Haruka reports what she observed to Prof. Itsuki. The professor says it’s a shame. Sawaki’s power has become a tool for money. He then tells Haruka that he has an idea. He reads a letter with some bills enclosed inside. Haruka posts a notice at a bulletin board. It’s for Tadayasu, Kei, Kawahama and Misato to appear at the faculty room.

It’s dark already and Misato and Kawahama have fallen asleep from their little celebration. Kei tells Tadayasu he’s going to Prof. Itsuki’s lab to retrieve their bags. Tadayasu looks at Misato and Kawahama. He thinks that unlike Prof. Itsuki and Haruka, they didn’t test his power. He remembers how in the past he was shunned because of his ability. Tadayasu plays with the microbes. He picks a slab of bread and summons the green fungi.

Kei finds that Haruki is still in the lab. He tells her they were at Misato and Kawahama’s dorm. He picks up Tadayasu and his backpack. Haruka asks him how he plans to spend time with Tadayasu from then on. Kei replies they are the sons of a sake brewer and a yeast factory owner so they should be best friends forever. Haruka approaches him and says that comparing Tadayasu’s power to an electron microscope, it’d be worth 300 million yen. She says if more find out about his ability, it won’t be just the professor or the two second year students who will exploit him.

Moyashimon microbe theatre

A group of P. chrysogenum dance around the surface of bread. They say they love humid places. C. tricoides arrive. They live in between bathroom tiles, in those blackened areas, thus their nickname, black fungi. A chained fungi arrive, A. alternata, known as soot fungus. They can grow in dirty contact lenses. They hide in air conditioners too. The P. chrysogenum, C. tricoides and A. alternata are happy that the room is full of fungi.

C. tricoides grow on surfaces where moisture is present. A. alternata are another opportunistic fungi. They cause leaf spots, rots and blights on plants. They also affect those who are immunocompromised.

Anyway, I thought this was a boring episode but I really enjoyed it, especially for its educational value. I’m learning a lot here. Knowledge aside, the episode poses a possible conflict for Tadayasu. I wonder if the series will deal more about opportunistic people (like the fungi) wanting to gain from Tadayasu’s ability. Also, I don’t know if Prof. Itsuki is one of them. He is mildly suspicious but he could just be after Tadayasu’s best interest.

I noticed that most of the microbes that Tadayasu sees are fungi. Fungi, after all, have a lot of agricultural significance. There are only a few bacteria shown though. I wonder if other bacteria will be shown, especially the pathogenic ones like Streptococcus, Staphylococcus or the notorious E. coli and Salmonella (which infects eggs and poultry). I wonder if Tadayasu can also see other microorganisms like Protozoans (Euglena, Amoeba, Paramecium, etc) and Algae. Though not considered microorganisms because they are thought to be non-living (thus, not an organism), I wonder if Tadayasu can see virus.

Oh well, I think Amoeba would be cute in Moyashimon.