A research group comprised of Waseda University Honjo Senior High School students Otoha Tsutsui (third year high school student at time of launch of research, currently second year student at the School of Political Science and Economics), Rei Sakamoto (second year high school student at time of launch of research, currently first year student at School of Education), Maika Obayashi and Saeko Yamakawa (third year high school students), Honjo Senior High School Teacher Toru Handa, and Tokyo University Associate Professor Iwao Matsuda from the Institute for Solid State Physics has discovered the presence of opal phytoliths in mulberry leaves. Furthermore, the group has determined the distribution of opal phytoliths to be uneven, and revealed the developmental composition of mulberry leaves.
Opal phytolith is a well-known biogenic siliceous body in a variety of higher plant families produced when roots in the earth absorb groundwater. The unique form and stability of the siliceous body are very useful for the fields of archaeology and plant taxonomy. By analyzing the chemical composition and formational changes of opal phytolith, researchers can understand the environment of substances absorbed by plants and better understand plant developmental mechanisms.
Waseda University Honjo Senior High School is recognized as a “Super Science High School” by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). For this research, student volunteers collected mulberry leaves growing naturally around campus starting from 2010. The research paper was penned by students under faculty supervision, and was published in the international scientific botanical journal, Flora.
Waseda University Honjo Senior High School is located in northern Saitama Prefecture, which is well known for its thriving sericulture industry. From this year, the school will conduct surveys on the effects of opal phytolith on silkworms. It is believed that opal phytolith is one substance that drives the appetite of silkworms. Research on the stimulation of silkworms’ appetite and increased silk production is also underway.
The research was published on the Dutch scientific botanical journal Flora’s website.
Light and SEM observation of opal phytoliths in the mulberry leaf
O. Tsutsui, R. Sakamoto, M. Obayashi, S. Yamakawa, T. Handa, D. Nishio-Hamane and I. Matsuda
