Speaker
Description
Colour changes in animals serve various functions, such as communication, camouflage, and thermoregulation [1]. In insects, coloration arises from structural colours and pigments. While structural colours result from light interference, pigment-based colours originate from selective light absorption and reflection of unabsorbed light. Some organisms exhibit colour-changes as a response to external stimuli such as temperature, humidity, and pH differences [2]. Recent studies have shown that the wings of the grasshopper Coloracris azureus exhibit a reversible thermochromic shift from blue to red when heated from 30 °C to 100 °C (i.e. outside the physiological range) [3]. These colour changes arise from the reversible binding and unbinding of the carotenoid astaxanthin to a protein, which is thought to be responsible for the observed thermochromic behaviour
The present project aims to further investigate the carotenoid–protein interactions responsible for this phenomenon and assess whether similar mechanisms occur also in other grasshoppers. Understanding these interactions may provide insights into thermochromic biological systems and help determine whether the pigment–protein complex can be isolated and applied in bio‑inspired sensing materials.
[1] Innes C. Cuthill et al., The biology of color. Science 357, eaan0221(2017). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan0221
[2] Bodo D. Wilts, Karolina Mothander, Almut Kelber; Humidity-dependent colour change in the green forester moth, Adscita statices. Biol Lett 1 September 2019; 15 (9): 20190516.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0516
[3] L.Wang, B. D.Wilts, Reversible Temperature Sensing using Blue-Winged Grasshopper Coloracris azureus Wings. Small 2024, 20, 2310193. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202310193