| Date | 2026.11.12 (15：30 - 17：45) |
|---|---|
| Venue |
Memorial Hall（Alumini 50th Anniversary Hall, Fuchu Campus, TUAT Meeting ID:857 3771 3527 Passcode:961961 |
| Speaker | Dr. Dagmar Voigt / Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Germany) Dr. Tsunaki Asano / Tokyo Metropolitan University (Japan) Dr. Naoe Hosoda / Tokyo University of Technology (Japan) |
| Title | ◆Dr. Dagmar Voigt "Arthropod locomotion and attachment strategies: ecomorphology and bioinspiration" ＜Abstarct＞ Arthropods employ an incredibly diverse range of locomotion and attachment strategies that have enabled them to occupy almost every ecological niche on Earth. Attached to suitable substrates with their feet, several species can hold up to 200 times their own body weight. Insect eggs can withstand detachment forces corresponding to 100,000+ times their own weight. This 'superpower' is driven by a complex interplay of biological, physical, and chemical characteristics at multiple levels, acting together to create sophisticated systems in arthropods, enabling them to survive and evolve successfully. The successful evolution of distinct characters and efficiencies across various organismal lineages indicates ingenious, bio-inspired approaches for innovative technical solutions. The talk provides several examples and insights into the fascinating ecomorphology of arthropods and the functional complexity behind the 'superpower'. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ◆Dr. Tsunaki Asano "What Genes Define Insects?" ＜Abstract＞ More than 1.2 million insect species have been described, and insects are often regarded as one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. I have long been interested in the evolutionary success of insects, particularly in relation to their cuticle formation system. The insect cuticle consists primarily of a matrix of chitin fibers and chitin-binding proteins, covering almost the entire body surface, including the tracheae and parts of the digestive tract. The insect cuticle plays essential roles as an exoskeleton that supports body shape and mechanical movement, and as a protective barrier that helps maintain internal homeostasis. Multicopper oxidase 2 (MCO2) plays a key role in the hardening of the insect cuticle. MCO2 catalyzes the oxidation of catecholamines using molecular oxygen as an electron acceptor, promoting intermolecular crosslinking and thereby increasing the strength and stability of the cuticle. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have suggested that MCO2 is specific to insects, indicating that MCO2-mediated cuticle hardening may represent a distinctive feature of insect evolution. After diverging from a crustacean lineage, the ancestors of insects colonized terrestrial environments, where calcium is less readily available than in the sea. They subsequently evolved a cuticle-hardening system utilizing atmospheric oxygen. The resulting lightweight cuticle without extensive calcification may have contributed to the later evolution of insect flight. This hypothesis may also help explain why insects have rarely colonized marine environments, where oxygen is much less abundant than in air and crustaceans with calcium-hardened cuticles were already widespread. In this lecture, I will discuss the evolutionary significance of MCO2-mediated cuticle formation and revisit some ideas concerning its potential applications that I presented in Dresden in 2015, incorporating new perspectives from our recent research. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ◆Dr. Naoe Hosoda "生物から学ぶ可逆接着" ヒトも歩く動物である。ヒトは歩行する際、靴(足裏)と地面の間の「摩擦」による反発力で前進する。このとき、摩擦力は表面に対して平行に作用する。一方、昆虫が葉の「裏側」を落ちずに歩くときは、摩擦だけでなく「接着」が必要になる。その接着力は、表面に垂直に作用する。歩行の際の接着は、次の一歩を踏み出すために剥がせること(剥離)が特徴となる。このような生物の歩行は、接着と剥離を繰り返す機能を開発するためのモデルとなる。 あらためて接着技術の歴史を振り返ってみると、従来はしっかり接着してはがれない「半永久的な接着」が求められていたことが分かる。しかし、持続可能社会の実現のために、リサイクルが重視されると、使用後に分解して分別回収できる剥離機能が必要とされるようになった。この理由により生物の歩行における接着は、必要な時に接着と非着が出来る「一時的な接着」機能の点から注目されている。 自然界では、環境破壊を引き起こした人工の技術に比べ，循環型システムとしての優れたしくみが見られる。自然の創り出したデザインは，循環性・高効率(省エネルギー)・機能性に優れており、ものづくりのプロセスが常温で行われるために経済的である。 本講演では、環境にやさしい接着技術について、バイオミメティクス(生物の機能を模倣する技術)の視点とともに、生物学的な接着モデルについて研究例を紹介する。 |
| Language | English |
| Intended for | Everyone is welcome to join |
| Organized by | Institute of Global Innovation Research, “FOOD” Fukuhara Team |
| Contact | Institute of Global Innovation Research / Institute of Agriculture Professor Takeshi SUZUKI e-mail: tszk (at) cc.tuat.ac.jp |
| Remarks | This seminar will be held both face-to-face and online concurrently. |
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