TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pauls, Dennis
A1  - Blechschmidt, Christine
A1  - Frantzmann, Felix
A1  - el Jundi, Basil
A1  - Selcho, Mareike
T1  - A comprehensive anatomical map of the peripheral octopaminergic/tyraminergic system of Drosophila melanogaster
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - The modulation of an animal’s behavior through external sensory stimuli, previous experience and its internal state is crucial to survive in a constantly changing environment. In most insects, octopamine (OA) and its precursor tyramine (TA) modulate a variety of physiological processes and behaviors by shifting the organism from a relaxed or dormant condition to a responsive, excited and alerted state. Even though OA/TA neurons of the central brain are described on single cell level in Drosophila melanogaster, the periphery was largely omitted from anatomical studies. Given that OA/TA is involved in behaviors like feeding, flying and locomotion, which highly depend on a variety of peripheral organs, it is necessary to study the peripheral connections of these neurons to get a complete picture of the OA/TA circuitry. We here describe the anatomy of this aminergic system in relation to peripheral tissues of the entire fly. OA/TA neurons arborize onto skeletal muscles all over the body and innervate reproductive organs, the heart, the corpora allata, and sensory organs in the antennae, legs, wings and halteres underlining their relevance in modulating complex behaviors.
KW  - neural circuits
KW  - peripheral nervous system
KW  - Drosophila melanogaster
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177412
VL  - 8
IS  - 15314
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Beck, Sebastian
A1  - Yu-Strzelczyk, Jing
A1  - Pauls, Dennis
A1  - Constantin, Oana M.
A1  - Gee, Christine E.
A1  - Ehmann, Nadine
A1  - Kittel, Robert J.
A1  - Nagel, Georg
A1  - Gao, Shiqiang
T1  - Synthetic light-activated ion channels for optogenetic activation and inhibition
JF  - Frontiers in Neuroscience
N2  - Optogenetic manipulation of cells or living organisms became widely used in neuroscience following the introduction of the light-gated ion channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2). ChR2 is a non-selective cation channel, ideally suited to depolarize and evoke action potentials in neurons. However, its calcium (Ca2\(^{2+}\)) permeability and single channel conductance are low and for some applications longer-lasting increases in intracellular Ca\(^{2+}\) might be desirable. Moreover, there is need for an efficient light-gated potassium (K\(^{+}\)) channel that can rapidly inhibit spiking in targeted neurons. Considering the importance of Ca\(^{2+}\) and K\(^{+}\) in cell physiology, light-activated Ca\(^{2+}\)-permeant and K\(^{+}\)-specific channels would be welcome additions to the optogenetic toolbox. Here we describe the engineering of novel light-gated Ca\(^{2+}\)-permeant and K\(^{+}\)-specific channels by fusing a bacterial photoactivated adenylyl cyclase to cyclic nucleotide-gated channels with high permeability for Ca\(^{2+}\) or for K\(^{+}\), respectively. Optimized fusion constructs showed strong light-gated conductance in Xenopus laevis oocytes and in rat hippocampal neurons. These constructs could also be used to control the motility of Drosophila melanogaster larvae, when expressed in motoneurons. Illumination led to body contraction when motoneurons expressed the light-sensitive Ca\(^{2+}\)-permeant channel, and to body extension when expressing the light-sensitive K\(^{+}\) channel, both effectively and reversibly paralyzing the larvae. Further optimization of these constructs will be required for application in adult flies since both constructs led to eclosion failure when expressed in motoneurons.
KW  - optogenetics
KW  - calcium
KW  - potassium
KW  - bPAC
KW  - CNG channel
KW  - cAMP
KW  - Drosophila melanogaster motoneuron
KW  - rat hippocampal neurons
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177520
VL  - 12
IS  - 643
ER  -