Publications

recombinant production and film properties of full-length hornet silk proteins.	full-length versions of the four main components of silk cocoons of vespa simillima hornets, vssilk1-4, were produced as recombinant proteins in escherichia coli. in shake flasks, the recombinant vssilk proteins yielded 160-330mg recombinant proteinl(-1). films generated from solutions of single vssilk proteins had a secondary structure similar to that of films generated from native hornet silk. the films made from individual recombinant hornet silk proteins had similar or enhanced mechanical pe ...	2014	24862540
cross-linking in the silks of bees, ants and hornets.	silk production is integral to the construction of nests or cocoons for many aculeata, stinging hymenopterans such as ants, bees and wasps. here we report the sequences of new aculeate silk proteins and compare cross-linking among nine native silks from three bee species (apis mellifera, bombus terrestris and megachile rotundata), three ant species (myrmecia forficata, oecophylla smaragdina and harpegnathos saltator) and three hornets (vespa analis, vespa simillima and vespa mandarinia). the wel ...	2014	24607851
a quinone isolated from the nest of vespa simillima and its growth-inhibitory effect on rat liver cancer cells.	a biologically active quinone that exhibits a growth-inhibitory effect on rat liver cancer cells was isolated from the nest of a social wasp, vespa simillima (vespinae, vespidae). the structure was unambiguously determined by nmr and synthetic experiments and identified as being 7,8-seco-para-ferruginone. the synthetic quinone showed potent growth-inhibitory effects on rat hepatoma cells (ic50 value=1.9 microm). morphological analyses of drlh84 cells using the synthetic compound were tested. chr ...	2008	18379070
sphaerularia vespae sp. nov. (nematoda, tylenchomorpha, sphaerularioidea), an endoparasite of a common japanese hornet, vespa simillima smith (insecta, hymenoptera, vespidae).	sphaerularia vespae sp. nov., an endoparasite of a common japanese hornet, vespa simillima is described from hokkaido, japan, and its molecular sequence profiles are given. this newly discovered nematode appears to belong to the genus sphaerularia, judging from its characteristic parasitic form, the uterium, which looks like a sausage with many verrucae on its surface. sphaerularia vespae sp. nov. is distinguished from s. bombi, the only other nominal species of the genus, by the morphology of t ...	2007	18348615
in-situ observation of tryptophan in larval cocoon silk of the hornet vespa simillima xanthoptera cameron by ultraviolet resonance raman spectroscopy.	we performed in-situ ultraviolet resonance raman (uvrr) spectroscopy of the larval cocoon silk of the hornet, vespa simillima xanthoptera cameron, and compared the result with that of the silkworm, bombix mori. the uvrr spectrum of the hornet cocoon differed markedly from that of the b. mori cocoon: peaks attributable to tyrosine (tyr) were observed strongly, and tryptophan (trp) peaks weakly, in the spectrum of the b. mori cocoon, whereas peaks attributable to trp exclusively appeared in the sp ...	2007	17485836