Developmental timing mechanisms during the formation of the compound eye in the honeybee worker, queen and drone (A07 [B03]+)

• Subject Area: Evolutionary Cell and Developmental Biology (Zoology)
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 208233609

The project aims to identify and characterize the light input pathways of the circadian system in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris. We will measure daily activity rhythms of bumblebees in a locomotor activity monitor under different monochromatic light regimes to determine the relative contribution of specific photoreceptors, and the two major visual systems of the bee, the compound eyes and the ocelli. Since bumblebees lack the blue light-sensitive flavoprotein Cryptochrome (CRY1), we will test the hypothesis that Pteropsin, a putative nonvisual brain photopigment, replaces some functions of Cryptochrome. In a joint collaboration with various groups within the CRC, we also aim to establish the CRISPR/Cas9 system for non-model animals, such as bees and ants, to knockout specific photoreceptors and subsequently test such animals for light entrainment.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1047: Insect Timing: Mechanisms, Plasticity and Interactions
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Project Head: Privatdozent Dr. Johannes Spaethe