Analysis of the neuronal basis of magnetoreception in an insect model.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Peter Bräunig, since 11/2013
• Subject Area: Systematics and Morphology (Zoology) ; Sensory and Behavioural Biology
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 233690566

• Final Report Year: 2017

Final Report Abstract

Cryptochrome 2-like immunoreactive cells at the base of the retina were stained in the optic lobes of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. The great majority of these cells do not stain with antisera against horse radish peroxidase and for this reason most likely are not neurons. The most likely explanation is that they are glial cells. Since gliaspecific markers are unavailable for cockroach nervous tissue this remains an open question.

Publications

• (2016) Cryptochrome 2 mediates directional magnetoreception in cockroaches. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 113:1660-1665
  Bazalova, O., Kvicalova, M., Valkova, T., Slaby, P., Bartos, P., Netusil, R., Tomanova, K., Bräunig, P., Lee, H. J., Sauman, I., Damulewicz, M., Provaznik, J., Pokorny, R., Dolezel, D., and Vacha, M.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518622113)