Mitochondrial heterogeneity in synapses (A05)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells ; Biophysics ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317475864

Mitochondria are essential for neuronal growth, survival and synaptic function. In the first funding period, we investigated the structural plasticity of mitochondria in cultured hippocampal neurons. An unexpected finding was that not all mitochondria contain mitochondrial DNA (nucleoids). We will now investigate the effect of the presence or absence of nucleoids on synaptic mitochondrial structure, function and turnover, as well as on synaptic function, by using multiple imaging techniques.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1286: Quantitative Synaptology
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Stefan Jakobs