Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Applied Zoology
Prof. Dr.
Klaus Reinhardt
E-Mail:
[email protected]
BScandMScprojectsintheAppliedZoologylab
TheAppliedZoologylabisseekingBScorMScstudentswithinterestsinevolutionaryormolecular
biologytoconductprojectsrelatingtospermbiology,cellularmetabolism,and/orcuticlebiology.
Opportunitiesexistfortraininginadvancedmicroscopy,genefunctionanalysis,proteinanalysis,and
experimentalevolution.
Minorities,includingmembersoftheLGBTcommunity,areparticularlyencouragedtoapply.
Excitingcutting-edgeresearchneedsyourfreshinput-howtoapply
Ourwebsite(http://tudaz.net)(news,publicationsandcurrentresearch)provideanimpressionon
thetopicsweareworkingon.However,youcandoanyprojectinareasrelatedtoourinterests,as
longasyouconvinceustheprojectisinteresting,orrelatedtoProf.Reinhardt'slectures.More
specifically,ourinterestsinclude:
*Sperm:evolution,ecology,physiologyandmolecularbiology,e.g.geneticmanipulation
(RNAi,CRISPRCas9),orsexuallytransmittedmicrobes
*Mitochondria:evolution,physiology,mitochondrialdiseases,ageing,ecology,behav.biology
*Cuticle:Genetics,proteininteractions,materialscience,incl.geneticmanipulation(RNAi,
CRISPRCas9)ofthecuticle
*Experimentalevolutionarybiology:incl.epigenetics,reproduction,sexualselection(insects)
*Culturalzoology
Belowaretwopageswithmorespecificresearchtopics.Pleasecallinifyoulikeoneorseveral.
SomeprojectsrequiregoodEnglishskills.Ifyouhaven'tdevelopedaspecificidea,comebyandsee
whatwedoorletusknowwhatresearchareayoumightbeinterestedin.Wewilldevelopa
researchprojecttogether.
Ecologicalandevolutionaryconsequencesofmitochondria-nucleuscrosstalk
Mitochondriaandnucleusinteract(crosstalk)toformthephenotype.Ourmitolinesallowusto
separatehowmuchthemitochondriaandthenucleuscontributetothephenotype.Manyprojects
arepossible,suchasthequestion:domitochondriacontributetobodysize,tospermlength,toegg
sizeorwhateveryoumightbeinterestedin.Similarly,mitochondriaalsohavearoleinadaptationto
temperatures-findingoutwhatrole,couldbeyourjob.Goodreadtostartwith:Dowling2014
BiochimicaBiophysicaActa1840:1393-1403//Dobleretal.2014.Journalofevol.Biol27:2012-2034
Protaminesinspermfunction
Weseektostudythemolecularfunctionoftheabundantspermproteinsprotaminesinthefertility
ofthefruitfly.Tocompactthechromatin,protaminesarereplacedbyhistonesinthefinalstagesof
spermmaturation.TransgenicfliesexpressingeGFP-taggedprotamineswillbeusedtocharacterise
molecularfunctionsduringspermatogenesisusingbiochemicalanalysesandotherapproaches.
Physiologyandmolecularbiologyofmitochondria-nucleuscrosstalk
Mitochondriaandnucleusinteract(crosstalk)toformthephenotype.Moleculardetailsorthe
functionofspecificmitochondrialornucleargenesoftheinteractioncanbeanalysedwithknockdownsorwithourspecialDrosophilamitolines.Goodreadtostartwith:Mitochondrialgenetics
Pos t al Ad dress (letters)
TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden
Pos t al Ad dress (parcels )
TU Dresden, Helmholtzstr 10
01069 Dresden, Germany
http://tu-dresden.de
Visitors' Address:
Secretary Office:
Zellescher Weg 20b,
Room E01
VAT: (national)
203/149/02549
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(international )
DE 188 369 991
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Filiale Dresden
IBAN DE52 8504 0000 0800 4004 00
BIC COBADEFF850
Member of:
lecturebyDrKrause//Picard&Wallace2016.Mitochondrion30:105-116//Gershonietal.2014,
GenomeBiologyandEvolution6:2665-2680
Molecularbiology,physiologyandevolutionaryecologyoftheinsectcuticle
Theinsectcuticleisanextracellularstructurethathastofulfilmultiplefunctions:protectionagainst
pathogens,barrieragainstdehydrationandexoskeleton.Howaretheseaspectsmetatthecellular
andmolecularlevel?WeuseDrosophilaasamodelinsecttoaddresstheseissuescombining
genetics(includingCrispr/Cas9)withseverallevelsofmicroscopy(light,atomicforce,confocaland
electronmicroscopy).Goodreadtostart:cuticlechapterChapmanInsects:StructureandFunction
Molecularbiologyofdevelopment
Basedonrecentdata,wehypothesisethatInsulinsignallingtriggersdevelopmentalprogressionin
bedbugs.Toexplorethis,wewanttomanipulateInsulinsignallingbyRNAinterferenceandby
applicationofinhibitorydrugs.Goodreadtostartwith:Gujar&SubbaPalli2016:ScientificReports,
6:26092//Walkiewicz&Stern2009:PLosOne,4:e5072
Evolution,physiologyandmolecularbiologyofspermstorage
Insectfemalesstorespermaliveinspecialorgans(spermathecae)formonths!Whyandhowisthat
possible?Experimental,microscopy,geneticorcomparativeprojectsarepossible.
Introreads:Orr&Brennan2015TrendsinEcologyandEvolution30:261-272,Reinhardt&Ribou
2013,ScientificReports3:2888
Resilinandotherinsectmaterialsusedforsex
Duringeverycopulation,malebedbugsuseapenisknifetopenetratethefemale'sskin.Weare
interestedtostudythematerialpropertiesofthepenisknifeandofthecorrespondingfemaleskin,
includingtheroleofresilin,anelasticproteinoftheexoskeletonofinsectstopreventdamage
throughfrequentorfastmovement.Mappingtheexoskeletonofvariousinsectspeciesforresilin
willbepossibleusinghistological,genomicorConfocalLaserScanningmicroscopymethods.
Goodreadtostartwith:Michelsetal.2015.JournaloftheRoyalSocietyInterface20141107
Bar-Onetal.2014,NatureCommunications5:3894
Sex-biasedexpressionofcuticularenzymes
Whywouldmalesandfemaleshavedifferentexpressionofgenesthatareinvolvedincuticle
formationandmaintenance?Wedon'tknowbutwehaveideasofhowtofindout.
Unexpectedly,wefoundrecentlythatchitin-degradingenzymesmayplayaroleindifferentiation
andfunctionofsexualorgansinDrosophila.Tocontinueanddeepenthisresearchfield,weplanto
analysethisaspectingenetic(Crispr/cas9)andhistologicalexperiments.Goodreadtostartwith:
Peschetal.2016:ScientificReports6:18340//Zhuetal.2008:PNAS105:6650–6655
Canspermevolveinresponsetointeractionswithmicrobes?
Spermcellsarecurrentlymainlybelievedtoevolveviasexualselection,aviewthatinits
absolutenessischallengedinourlab.Sexuallytransmittedmicrobes,forexample,shouldhavea
greatimpactonspermfunctionand,hence,evolverapidly.Experimentalworkwilltesttheeffectof
sexuallytransmittedmicrobesininsectsonspermfunction.
Goodreads:Lockhartetal.1996.BiologicalReviews71:415-471
Rilligetal.2016.TrendsinEcologyandEvolution30:470-476
Reinhardtetal.2016.AnnualReviewofEcologyEvolutionandSystematics46:435-459
Culturalhistoryofinsects(mainlythebedbug)
InvolvesawiderangeofquestionsfromthehistoryofbedbuginDresdenandSaxony(workin
archives),torepresentationofbedbugsinfilmsorTVsitcoms.
Goodstarttoread:ReinhardtK.2014.LiterarischeWanzen,Neofelis,Berlin.
Dicke,M.2004.FromVenicetoFabre:Insectsinwesternart.Proc.Neth.Entomol.Soc15:9-14
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