Academic papers

Author: Hiroyuki Nakamura¹ ² ³, Yusuke Ito³, Ryota Sato³, Hongfang Chi³, Chikako Sato³, Yasuha Watanabe¹, Kazuharu Arakawa¹ ² DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c01389 Abstract The major ampullate silk of orb-weaving spiders is renowned for its exceptional mechanical properties, including high tensile strength and extensibility. The development of artificial spider silk presents a promising alternative to traditional fibers with […]

Author:Taiki Mori1,Sao Sumida1,Kazuki Sakata2,Seiji Shirakawa1 DOI:10.1039/D4OB00507D 1. Institute of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University 2. Spiber Inc. Abstract Both natural and unnatural amino acids, peptides, and proteins are widely recognized as green and sustainable organic chemicals, not only in the field of biological sciences but also in materials science. It has been discovered that […]

Author:Hiroyuki Nakamura1,2,3, Nobuaki Kono1,2, Masaru Mori1, Hiroyasu Masunaga4, Keiji Numata1,5,6, Kazuharu Arakawa1,2 DOI:10.1021/acs.biomac.2c01474 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University 3. Spiber Inc. 4. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute 5. Biomacromolecules Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 6. Department of Material Chemistry, Kyoto University […]

Author:Kazuharu Arakawa1,2,3,4*, Nobuaki Kono1,3, Ali D. Malay5, Ayaka Tateishi5,6, Nao Ifuku5, Hiroyasu Masunaga7, Ryota Sato5,8, Kousuke Tsuchiya5,6, Rintaro Ohtoshi5,8, Daniel Pedrazzoli8, Asaka Shinohara8, Yusuke Ito8, Hiroyuki Nakamura5,8, Akio Tanikawa9, Yuya Suzuki10,11, Takeaki Ichikawa12, Shohei Fujita13, Masayuki Fujiwara1, Masaru Tomita1,2,3, Sean J. Blamires14, Jo-Ann Chuah5, Hamish Craig5,14, Choon P. Foong5,6, Gabriele Greco15, Juan Guan16, Chris Holland17, […]

Author:Nobuaki Kono1, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Ayaka Tateishi3,4, Keiji Numata3,4, Kazuharu Arakawa1 DOI:10.1186/s40851-021-00179-7 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Spiber Inc. 3. RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 4. Department of Material Chemistry, Kyoto University From “The balance of crystalline and amorphous regions in the fibroin structure underpins the tensile strength of bagworm silk” license […]

Author:Atsushi Hirano1, Momoyo Wada1, Takehiro K.Sato2, Tomoshi Kameda3 DOI:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.02.141 1. Nanomaterials Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) 2. Spiber Inc. 3. Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), AbstractStructural proteins such as spider silk and silkworm silk are generally poorly soluble in aqueous and […]

Author:Yu Suzuki1,Takanori Higashi1,Takahiro Yamamoto1,Hideyasu Okamura1,Takehiro K. Sato2 and Tetsuo Asakura3 DOI:10.3390/molecules27020511 1. Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui 2. Spiber Inc. 3. Department of Biotechnology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology AbstractSpider dragline silk is a biopolymer with excellent mechanical properties. The development of recombinant spider silk protein […]

Author:Nobuaki Kono1,2, Rintaro Ohtoshi3, Ali D. Malay3, Masaru Mori1,2, Hiroyasu Masunaga4,5, Yuki Yoshida1,2, Hiroyuki Nakamura6, Keiji Numata3,7 and Kazuharu Arakawa1,2 DOI:10.1098/rsob.210242 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Systems Biology Program, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University 3. RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 4. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute 5. RIKEN […]

Author:David Lips DOI:10.1049/enb2.12017 Spiber Inc. From “Fuelling the future of sustainable sugar fermentation across generations” Abstract Biomanufacturing in the form of industrial sugar fermentation is moving beyond pharmaceuticals and biofuels into chemicals, materials, and food ingredients. As the production scale of these increasingly consumer-facing applications expands over the next decades, considerations regarding the environmental impact […]

Author:Nobuaki Kono 1,3, Hiroyuki Nakamura 4, Rintaro Ohtoshi 4, Kazuharu Arakawa 1,2,3∗ DOI:10.1016/j.dib.2021.107388 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University 3. Systems Biology Program, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University 4. Spiber inc. AbstractThe two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus is a popular food for reptiles […]

Author:Nobuaki Kono1, Hiroyuki Nakamura2 and Kazuharu Arakawa1 DOI:10.1080/23802359.2021.1974967 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Spiber Inc. From “The complete mitochondrial genome of Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Araneidae)” by Kono et al.. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0. Abstract Trichonephila clavipes (Linnaeus, 1767) is known as a golden silk orb-weaver and belongs to the family Araneidae. T. […]

Author: David Lips DOI:10.1042/ETLS20210129 Spiber Inc. AbstractIncreasingly, bio-based products made via sugar-powered microbial cell factories and industrial fermentation are reaching the market and presenting themselves as sustainable alternatives to fossil and animal-based products. The sustainability potential of biotechnology, however, has been shown to come with trade-offs and cannot be taken for granted. Shared environmental impact […]

Authors: Nobuaki Kono1,2, Hiroyuki Nakamura3, Masaru Mori1,2, Yuki Yoshida1,2, Rintaro Ohtoshi4, Ali D. Malay4, Daniel A. Pedrazzoli Moran3, Masaru Tomita1,2, Keiji Numata4,5 and Kazuharu Arakawa1,2* DOI:10.1073/pnas.2107065118 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Systems Biology Program, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University 3. Spiber Inc. 4. Center for Sustainable Resource Science, RIKEN […]

Authors: Masayuki Fujiwara1,2, Nobuaki Kono1,2, Akiyoshi Hirayama1,2, Ali D. Malay3, Hiroyuki Nakamura4, Rintaro Ohtoshi4, Keiji Numata3, Masaru Tomita1,2,5 & Kazuharu Arakawa1,2,4* DOI:110.3390/biom11040563 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Systems Biology Program, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University 3. Biomacromolecules Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 4. Spiber Inc. 5. […]

Authors: Yuya Tachibana1,2*, Sunita Darbe3, Senri Hayashi1, Alina Kudasheva3, Haruna Misawa1, Yuka Shibata1 & Ken-ichi Kasuya1,2* DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80114-6 1. Division of Molecular Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Gunma University 2. Gunma University Center for Food Science and Wellness 3. Spiber Inc. From “Environmental biodegradability of recombinant structural protein” by Yuya Tachibana et al.. Licensed […]

Authors: Jianming Chen1, Yoshinori Ohta1,2, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Hiroyasu Masunaga3, Keiji Numata1,4* DOI: 10.1038/s41428-020-00419-1 1. Biomacromolecules Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 2. Spiber Inc. 3. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute 4. Department of Material Chemistry, Kyoto University AbstractInspired by the natural spinning process, we developed an aqueous wet spinning system using a citrate […]

Authors: Nobuaki Kono1*, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Masaru Mori1, Masaru Tomita1& Kazuharu Arakawa1 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72888-6 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Spiber Inc. From “Spidroin profiling of cribellate spiders provides insight into the evolution of spider prey capture strategies” by Nobuaki Kono et al.. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0. Abstract Orb-weaving spiders have two main methods […]

Authors: Anurag Priyam1, Ben J Woodcroft2, Vivek Rai3, Ismail Moghul1, Alekhya Munagala3, Filip Ter1, Hiten Chowdhary3, Iwo Pieniak1, Lawrence J Maynard1, Mark Anthony Gibbins4, HongKee Moon5, Austin Davis-Richardson6, Mahmut Uludag7,8, Nathan S Watson-Haigh9, Richard Challis10, Hiroyuki Nakamura11, Emeline Favreau1, Esteban A Gómez1, Tomás Pluskal12, Guy Leonard13, Wolfgang Rumpf14,15, Yannick Wurm1 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msz185 1. School of […]

Authors: Nobuaki Kono1, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Rintaro Ohtoshi2, Daniel A. Pedrazzoli Moran2, Asaka Shinoharai2, Yuki Yoshida3, Masayuki Fujiwara1, Masaru Mori1, Masaru Tomita1,3 & Kazuharu Arakawa1,3 DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-44775-2 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Spiber Inc. 3. Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University From “Orb-weaving spider Araneus ventricosus genome elucidates the spidroin gene catalogue” […]

Nobuaki Kono1, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Rintaro Ohtoshi2, Masaru Tomita1, Keiji Numata3 & Kazuharu Arakawa1 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0412-8 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, 2. Spiber Inc. 3. RIKEN From “The bagworm genome reveals a unique fibroin gene that provides high tensile strength” by Nobuaki Kono et al.. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0. Abstract Arthropod silk is known […]

Authors: Kazuharu Arakawa1,2, Nobuaki Kono1, Rintaro Ohtoshi3, Hiroyuki Nakamura3, Masaru Tomita1,2 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1495119 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, 2. Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, 3. Spiber Inc. From “The complete mitochondrial genome of Eumeta variegata (Lepidoptera: Psychidae)” by Kazuharu Arakawa et al.. Licensed undder CC-BY 4.0. Abstract The complete mitochondrial […]

Authors:Anh T.N. Dao1, Junichi Shimokata1,2, Kengo Takeuchi1,2, Koyuru Nakayama1, Toshiaki Taniike1 DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2018.04.018 1. Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology 2. Spiber Inc. AbstractRecombinant spider silk has arisen as one of the most promising nature-derived building blocks owing to its extraordinary mechanical properties, while its instability against […]

Authors: Kosuke Fujishima1,2,3,4, Kendrick M. Wang6, Jesse A. Palmer2, Nozomi Abe4, Kenji Nakahigashi4,5, Drew Endy6 & Lynn J. Rothschild3 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19920-y 1. Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology 2. Universities Space Research Association, 3. NASA Ames Research Center 4. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 5. Spiber Inc. 6. Stanford University Department of Bioengineering, […]

Authors:Yugo Tasei1, Akio Nishimura1, Yu Suzuki2, Takehiro K. Sato3, Junichi Sugahara3, and Tetsuo Asakura1 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b01862 1. Department of Biotechnology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 2. Tenure-Track Program for Innovative Research, University 3. Spiber Inc. AbstractSpider silks continue to attract researchers because of their excellent mechanical properties and supercontraction behavior. In this paper, the […]

Authors:Koyuru Nakayama1, Anh T.N. Dao1, Kengo Takeuchi1, 2, Junichi Shimokata1,2, Toshiaki Taniike1, DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2017.08.010 1. Graduate School of Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology 2. Spiber Inc. AbstractIn this work, the oxidative degradation of recombinant spider silk in a solid state was studied based on chemiluminescence analysis. It […]

Authors: Anh T. N. Dao1, K. Nakayama1, J. Shimokata1,2 and T. Taniike1 DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01954D 1. School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology 2. Spiber Inc. AbstractRecent successes in the production of recombinant spider silk have boosted numerous attempts for its industrialization as a robust and extremely tough material. In spite of […]

Authors:Kenjiro Yazawa1, Kana Ishida1,2, Hiroyasu Masunaga3,4, Takaaki Hikima4 and Keiji Numata1 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01685 1. Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN Center 2. Spiber Inc. 3. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute 4. RIKEN SPring-8 Center AbstractSilk, which has excellent mechanical toughness and is lightweight, is used as a structural material in nature, for example, in silkworm cocoons and […]

Authors:Nobuaki Kono1, Hiroyuki Nakamura2, Yusuke Ito2, Masaru Tomita1, Kazuharu Arakawa1 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12485 1. Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University 2. Spiber Inc. AbstractWith advances in high‐throughput sequencing technologies, de novo transcriptome sequencing and assembly has become a cost‐effective method to obtain comprehensive genetic information of a species of interest, especially in nonmodel species with large […]

Authors:Keiji Numata1, Ryota Sato1,2, Kenjiro Yazawa1, Takaaki Hikima3, Hiroyasu Masunaga4 DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.025 1. Enzyme Research Team, Biomass Engineering Program Cooperative Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 2. Spiber Inc. 3. RIKEN SPring-8 Center 4. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute AbstractAntheraea yamamai silk contains long poly(alanine) sequences that contribute to β-sheet crystals, which are responsible […]

Authors:Keiji Numata1, Hiroyasu Masunaga2, Takaaki Hikima3, Sono Sasaki3,4, Kazuhide Sekiyama5 and Masaki Takata2,3 DOI: 10.1039/c5sm00757g 1. Enzyme Research Team, Biomass Engineering Program Cooperative Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 2. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute 3. RIKEN SPring-8 Center 4. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology 5. Spiber Inc. Abstractβ-Sheet […]