Obiettivo Coordinated walking in vertebrates and multi-legged invertebrates such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is controlledby an evolutionarily conserved network capable to control movement in a fast, stable, and energy-efficient way. At the sametime, it provides the flexibility to adapt to changes in the terrain, load, and internal motor representations due to disease orinjury. Currently, the contribution of different brain structures responsible for the recovery process is only partially understoodand, importantly, the role of specific genes remains mostly elusive. Preliminary data shows that adult Drosophila flies inwhich the two middle legs were amputated improve their gait performance gradually over the course of a few days engagingin a more controlled gait. We also find that mutants for the learning and memory gene rutabaga lack any kind of short- orlong-term recovery. These results suggest that flies can readjust their motor circuitry upon injury and that a mechanism ofsynaptic plasticity might be involved.The overall goal of this proposal is to establish the fruit fly Drosophila as a genetic model for neurorehabilitation and recoveryafter amputation, which will allow the identification of new genes and mechanisms of motor plasticity. In order to carry outthese aims, I will take advantage of the sophisticated Drosophila neurogenetic toolkit that allows gene manipulation and theexecution of in vivo gain and loss-of-function experiments in a controlled number of neurons. In addition, I will use an adultfly walking assay that I developed during my postdoc, the FlyWalker system, which allows a detailed quantification of locomotor activity. Identifying genes and molecular components that affect the process of plasticity and motor adaptation will allow us to identify new biochemical pathways that influence the recovery process and design new approaches to enhance recovery outcomes. Campo scientifico scienze naturaliscienze biologichezoologiazoologia degli invertebrati Programma(i) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Argomento(i) MSCA-IF-2016 - Individual Fellowships Invito a presentare proposte H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento MSCA-IF-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel Coordinatore UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA Contribution nette de l'UE € 160 635,60 Indirizzo Campus de campolide 1099 085 Lisboa Portogallo Mostra sulla mappa Regione Continente Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Partecipazione a programmi di R&I dell'UE Opens in new window Rete di collaborazione HORIZON Opens in new window Altri finanziamenti € 0,00
