SFB 488:  Molecular and Cellular Bases of Neural Development

• Subject Area: Biology ; Medicine
• Term: from 2000 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5484030

The collaborative research centre studies neural development from molecules to supracellular systems. One section addresses the early development of the nervous system, its rostro-caudal and ventro-dorsal specification, as well as origin and development of neural progenitor cells. Molecular mechanisms underlying axonal pathfinding are in the center of section two. The third section focuses on the molecular bases of neural cell differentiation. Section four studies more complex systems within the CNS, e.g. the development of synchronous neuronal activities and the roles of distinct genes for the development of higher cognitive and affective functions.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• International Connection: Israel

Completed projects

• A01 - Functional characterization of a novel Wnt regulator in the central nervous system (Project Heads Niehrs, Ph.D., Christof ;  Sirrenberg-Cruciat, Cristina-Maria )
• A4 - Determinierung und Migration neuraler Vorläuferzellen (Project Head Trotter, Ph.D., Jacqueline )
• A05 - Mechanisms of specification and delamination of neural crest progenitors (Project Head Kalcheim, Ph.D., Chaya )
• A06 - Entwicklung neuroendokriner und neuronaler Abkömmlinge der Neuralleiste (Project Heads Kalcheim, Ph.D., Chaya ;  Unsicker, Klaus )
• A08 - Retinal growth and regeneration (Project Head Wittbrodt, Joachim )
• A12 - Patterning of an ancient nervous system: Analysis of regulatory genes in the cnidarian nervous system (Project Head Holstein, Thomas W. )
• A14 - Specification of peripheral neurons at the lateral neuroectoderm border in the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii (Project Head Arendt, Detlev )
• A15 - Mechanical regulation of neuronal differentiation in vivo (Project Head Gilmour, Darren )
• A17 - Identification of cis- regulatory grammar controlling neuronal development in vertebrate (Project Head Ettwiller, Laurence )
• A18 - Establishment of neuroanatomical asymmetries in the zebrafisch brain (Project Head Carl, Matthias )
• B1 - Zytoskeletale Mechanismen in der neuronalen Morphogenese (Project Head Brandt, Roland )
• B2 - Dendritic membrane traffic in developing neuronal networks (Project Head Gerdes, Hans-Hermann )
• B3 - Genetische Analyse der axonalen Wegfindung in C. elegans (Project Head Hutter, Harald )
• B04 - The role of the cell adhesion molecule DM-GRASP and its effectors in axon growth and navigation in vivo (Project Head Pollerberg, Gabriele Elisabeth )
• B05 - Role of Gq/G11- and G12/G13-mediated signalling in the development of the vervous system (Project Head Offermanns, Stefan )
• B06 - Semaphorin-plexin-B interactions in mechanisms go vering neuronal specification and connectivity (Project Head Kuner, Rohini )
• B07 - Control of peripheral nerve outgrowth in embryonic mouse development (Project Head Tucker, Kerry Lee )
• B08 - Functional role of the RhoGAP gene MEGAP in neuronal development (Project Head Rappold, Gudrun )
• B09 - Control of brain development by primary cilia (Project Head Tucker, Kerry Lee )
• C1 - APP und Presenilin Genfamilie bei neuronaler Differenzierung und Degeneration (Project Heads Beyreuther, Konrad ;  Paro, Renato )
• C4 - Der hypothalamische Pulsgenerator für GnRH Neurone: Wiedererwachen in der Pubertät (Project Head Seeburg, Peter H. )
• D1 - Postnatal development of functional and structural properties of neocortical neurones with particular consideration of the barrel cortex (Project Head Feldmeyer, Dirk )
• D2 - Mechanismus der TrkB Signaltransduktion in der Entwicklung und an Synapsen (Project Head Klein, Rüdiger )
• D3 - Gap-junction channels in the postnatal developing brain (Project Head Monyer, Hannah )
• D04 - Synaptic organizers at the developing neuromuscular junction (Project Head Witzemann, Veit )
• D06 - The role of the nuclear receptor ´tailless´ in development and adult neural stem cells (Project Head Schütz, Günther )
• D07 - Analysis of GADD45-mediated epigenetic control of activity-dependent neuronal survival (Project Head Bading, Hilmar )
• D8 - Building GABAergic synapses: differential targeting of GABA-A receptors to synaptiv and extrasynaptic sites (Project Head Wisden, William )
• D09 - The developmental change of inhibition in nigral neurons (Project Head Misgeld, Ulrich )
• D10 - Role of minibrain kinase in normal and pathologic development of the vervous system (Project Head Bartsch, Dusan )
• D11 - Funktionelle Entwicklung neuronaler Schaltkreise im olfaktorischen System vom Zebrafisch (Project Head Friedrich, Rainer )
• D12 - The role of GABA-A receptors in GnRH neurons and of olfactory bulb GnRH neurons of reproduction (Project Head Seeburg, Peter H. )
• D13 - Functional maturation of patterned network activity in the dentate gyrus (Project Head Draguhn, Andreas )
• D15 - Cellular mechanisms of the glycine receptor a subunit switch in the developing rodent brain (Project Head Kirsch, Joachim )
• D16 - Role of presynaptic NMDA-receptors during the development of neuromuscular junctions in Drosophila (Project Head Schuster, Christoph M. )
• D17 - Signaling pathways in tangentially migrating neuroblasts (Project Head Monyer, Hannah )
• D18 - Control of synapse assembly and development of neuromuscular junctions in genetically engineered mouse models (Project Heads Müller, Ulrike ;  Witzemann, Veit )
• D20 - Regulation of SVZ precursor proliferation by EGFR signalling (Project Head Ciccolini, Francesca )
• N01 - Investigating the role of neuronal microRNAs in local translation of dendritic mRNAs in mammalian cells (Project Head Schratt, Ph.D., Gerhard Martin )
• N01 - Investigating the role of microRNAs in dendritic protein synthesis in mammalian neurons (Project Head Schratt, Ph.D., Gerhard Martin )
• Z01 - Central administrative tasks of the Collaborative Research Centre (Project Heads Unsicker, Klaus ;  Wittbrodt, Joachim )
• Z02 - Zentrales Serviceprojekt (Project Head Unsicker, Klaus )
• Z03 - Confocal Live Cell Microscopy (Project Heads Holstein, Thomas W. ;  Wittbrodt, Joachim )

• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Participating Institution: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Faculty of Medicine; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology; (aufgelöst); Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ); European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL); Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung
• Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Klaus Unsicker, until 12/2007; Professor Dr. Joachim Wittbrodt