Closed symposia

Closed symposium1 The present and future research on cockroaches

3:45pm – 5:45pm, Saturday, December 2, 2023
Osaka University Hall

  • Organizer:
    Takayuki Watanabe [Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies], Hiroshi Nishino [Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University], Mizunami Makoto [Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University]
  • Subject and Contents of the Symposium: Cockroaches appear in the kitchen at night and are among the most disliked insects. On the other hand, some cockroaches like American cockroaches are widely used as model insects to investigate the neural mechanisms of odor perception because they are nocturnal and their sense of smell is remarkably developed. Cockroaches have unique ecology such as group life and symbiosis with bacteria. There are species that raise children and groups that have acquired eusociality (termites). Hence, they are important materials for behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. Moreover, attempts have begun to use large, robust cockroaches as “cyborg cockroaches” to gather information at disaster sites. In this symposium “Present and Future of Cockroach Research”, we asked each speaker to make a presentation on the current state of cutting-edge research using cockroaches, and discuss future prospects.
  • Speakers & Talk Titles
    • S2-1: Haruka Osaki [North Carolina State University] Behavioral ecology on the enigmatic life in mating pairs of wood-feeding cockroaches
    • S2-2: Kosuke Tateishi [School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University] Two sex pheromone processing pathways controlling sexual behaviors in the American cockroach
    • S2-3: Takayuki Watanabe [Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies] Evolutionary Studies of Insect Olfactory System: A Case Study on the Sex Pheromone Reception System in Blattidae Cockroaches
    • S2-4: Shinjiro Umezu [Modern Mechanical Engineering, Waseda University] Cyborg Cockroach Research: Present and Future

Closed symposium2 The world of ingenious life phenomena in protists

0:30pm – 2:30pm, Sunday, December 3, 2023
Osaka University Hall

Systems Design Theory Learned from Living Organisms

  • Organizer:
    Yoichiro Sogame [Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College]
  • Subject and Contents of the Symposium: This symposium is aimed at providing the opportunity to discuss the unique lifestyles of protists based on insights drawn from comparative physiology. Protists are single cell organisms and their cell structures and behavior were previously considered to be relatively simple. However, protists can survive in a wider variety of environments than multicellular organisms using evolutionarily acquired adaptations.
    This symposium examines five state-of-the-art research topics in protists: environmental responses and adaptation; cell behavior; sexual reproduction; symbiosis between termites and protists; and parasitism by Toxoplasma.
  • Speakers & Talk Titles
    • S3-1: Yoichiro Sogame [Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College] Resting cyst formation in colpodid ciliates
    • S3-2: Yukinori Nishigami [Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University] Mechanisms of rheotaxis in Tetrahymena pyriformis
    • S3-3: Takahiko Akematsu [Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University] Fixed or random? Mechanisms behind nuclear selection in the ciliate Tetrahymena
    • S3-4: Osamu Kitade [College of Science, Ibaraki University] Evolution of community structure, morphology and movement in termite symbiotic protists
    • S3-5: Kisaburo Nagamune [Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases] Analysis of the highjacking-mechanism of host cell function by parasitic protist Toxoplasma gondii