Project Details
Projekt
Microbial rhodopsins as optogenetic tools to analyze neuronal networks in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (P11)
Subject Area
Cell Biology
Term
from 2008 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 57566863
In P11, microbial rhodopsins are, one the hand, functionally characterized, and on the other hand used as tools in optogenetic experiments to study signaling events within and between neurons of the nematode C. elegans. We use rhodopsins as optical sensors for membrane potential, and further optimize them by using synthetic retinal analogs. We characterize an unusual microbial rhodopsin, Cyclop, which converts light-perception in the TM domain into activation of a cytosolic guanylyl cyclase domain. Last, we use optogenetic tools to elucidate a neuropeptide / receptor / neuron network that enables C. elegans to navigate.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Applicant Institution
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Project Head
Professor Dr. Alexander Gottschalk
