june, 2024
Event Details
Prof. Dr. Alexander Gottschalk from the Molecular Cell Biology and Neurobiochemistry, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Biophysical Chemistry will give a lecture during the MBExC Optogenetics Club about “Neuropeptidergic regulation of synaptic transmission in C. elegans and zebrafish – optogenetic tools and analyses”
Abstract
Chemical synaptic transmission is a crucial for all animals. While many key players have been characterized, there are still new aspects to be uncovered. In recent years, neuromodulatory regulation of synaptic transmission came into focus. In C. elegans, neuropeptides play important roles in this. cAMP signaling, downstream of sensory inputs or internal brain states, causes an increase in synaptic vesicle fusion, but also in regulating the filling state of synaptic vesicles, which is mediated by neuropeptides. We identified neuropeptides involved in this regulation and uncovered postsynaptic homeostatic compensation in their absence. To explore whether such mechanisms may be conserved in vertebrates, we turned to zebrafish. We found that optogenetically induced cAMP signaling using bPAC induces transmitter release and evokes exaggerated behavior. We found that neuropeptide signaling affects these responses, and identified a likely neuropeptide candidate, tac1. In the absence of neuropeptide processing, or of tac1, we found that muscles had upregulated nAChRs to compensate for this defect. This postsynaptic compensation differs from C. elegans, where mechanisms downstream of nAChRs are involved. I will also report on optogenetic tools for the analysis of synaptic transmission, and for the regulation of distinct pools of SVs and DCVs.
Chairs: Tobias Moser and Thomas Mager
Poster of the talk: 
