Descripción del proyecto
Descifrar el misterio de la migración animal
Cada año, ballenas, mariposas y otros animales se embarcan en viajes migratorios a distancias impensables, guiados por el campo magnético de la Tierra. Aunque hay pruebas inequívocas de comportamiento que demuestran que esta facultad existe, es el sentido del que menos se sabe. Se desconoce la ubicación de los sensores principales, los mecanismos biofísicos subyacentes y la base neurológica del sentido magnético. El objetivo del proyecto NeuroMag, financiado con fondos europeos, es identificar las moléculas, las células y los circuitos que subyacen al sentido magnético en las palomas. Para lograrlo, los investigadores a cargo del proyecto llevarán a cabo un ensayo para evaluar la activación neuronal dentro del cerebro de la paloma después de la exposición a los campos magnéticos.
Objetivo
Each year millions of animals undertake remarkable migratory journeys, across oceans and through hemispheres, guided by the Earth’s magnetic field. While there is unequivocal behavioural evidence demonstrating the existence of the magnetic sense, it is the least understood of all sensory faculties. The biophysical, molecular, cellular, and neurological underpinnings of the sense remain opaque. In this application we aim to remedy this situation, exploiting an established assay, our unique infrastructure, and state-of-the-art methodology, using pigeons as a model system. The proposal will address three questions:
1) Where are the primary magnetosensors?
2) Where is magnetic information processed in the brain?
3) How is magnetic information encoded in the brain?
In Aim 1 we will explore whether inner ear hair cells are the primary sensors, and if the detection of magnetic stimuli depends on the presence of magnetic crystals or electromagnetic induction. We will employ a range of physical methods to locate magnetite, and a molecular approach to identify putative electroreceptors. In Aim 2 we will use light sheet microscopy coupled with clearing methods to undertake whole brain mapping of magnetically-induced neuronal activation in the pigeon. We will complement these studies with transcriptomic methods to molecularly and anatomically define magnetosensitive circuits within the pigeon brain. We will build on this work in Aim 3 utilising in vivo 2-photon microscopy to investigate how cells within the pigeon brain encode magnetic information. We will determine whether neurons encode for specific components of the magnetic field (i.e. inclination, intensity, and polarity) and explore whether there are spatially restricted ensembles, providing a dynamic picture of magnetically induced neuronal activity. We anticipate that these experiments will reveal a secret that nature has kept hidden for millennia; How do animals detect magnetic fields?
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
80539 Muenchen
Alemania