Descripción del proyecto
Un análisis más profundo de los ojos simples
Cada aspecto de la visión es diverso. Por ejemplo, los ojos simples de los animales existentes muestran una notable diversidad de formas y funciones. El equipo del proyecto financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación PROTOEYE estudiará cómo interpretan las señales de luz los sistemas nerviosos de todo el reino animal. Se utilizará microscopía óptica y de electrones de vanguardia para reconstruir los ojos y el sistema nervioso de varios animales del plancton marino. Este proyecto impulsado por la curiosidad se centrará en diseccionar las bases neuronales de los comportamientos impulsados por la luz en animales marinos. Además de aumentar nuestra comprensión sobre la evolución de la visión animal, los hallazgos arrojarán luz sobre los principios generales de la evolución del sistema sensorial, así como del origen y la evolución de los ojos y los circuitos visuales.
Objetivo
Complex animal eyes evolved many times independently from simpler forms. As already suggested by Darwin, the path to vision may have led from non-directional to directional light sensing and then to low-resolution spatial vision. Simple eyes in extant animals show a remarkable diversity of form and function and may hold the key to the origin of eyes and vision. We do not know why this diversity evolved when the organisms all respond to the same physical cue. Although we have a detailed molecular-centric view of eye evolution across animals, we lack corresponding knowledge of the physical mechanics and neuronal circuits coordinating the responses. PROTOEYE will study the diversity of simple non-visual and visual eyes and map the phase space of light-guided behaviours across animals. This will inform general principles of sensory system evolution and our understanding of the origin and evolution of eyes and visual circuits. The project will build on our long-term expertise in neural circuits and mechanistic photo-biology. We will study a range of aquatic invertebrates with distinct behavioural strategies, unified by the presence of simple eyes and non-visual photoreceptors. Instead of looking at eyes in isolation, we will investigate light responses from a whole-organism perspective focusing on circuits, behaviour and the biophysics of motion. In order to obtain entire neuronal circuits driving photic behaviours, we will use whole-body serial electron microscopy and connectomics. With laser ablation, we will explore strategies of light-seeking or light-avoidance behaviours. In high-throughput behavioural assays we will test navigation strategies and sensitivities to different wavelengths. With high-speed imaging and flow tracing, we will investigate how animal movement is shaped by light. This comparative and multi-disciplinary project will chart the functional diversity of simple eyes and provide a new framework for understanding the evolution of animal vision.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
69117 Heidelberg
Alemania