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Sensory-motor circuits in marine zooplankton and early evolution of the nervous system

Objetivo

Animal nervous systems evolved in a marine environment at the dawn of
animal life, and diversified during the Cambrian explosion', one of the
most spectacular events in the history of life. Remarkably little is
known about early stages of the evolution of neuronal circuits and
nervous systems. Simple marine planktonic organisms, in particular
ciliated larvae of various marine invertebrates, can give us insights
into how simple nervous circuits of marine organism function and may
have evolved. The proposed project aims at investigating the nervous
system of ciliated animal larvae using an integrative approach combining
the fields of molecular biology, neurobiology, behaviour, marine ecology
and evolution. As such, the project aims at pioneering an entirely new
field of interdisciplinary investigations, the neurobiology of marine
zooplankton. We will use a cultured marine annelid as our main model
species, and several 'satellite' species to give a comparative
perspective to our investigations. Our objective is to understand the
anatomy and function of neuronal circuits that regulate the planktonic
migration of ciliated zooplankton larvae. We will be able to address
this at various levels, linking molecules to neuron types, neurons to
larval behaviours and behaviours to marine ecology. Our aim is to get
the first detailed systems level understanding of the nervous system of
a marine ciliated larva.

Convocatoria de propuestas

ERC-2010-StG_20091118
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Régimen de financiación

ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant

Institución de acogida

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Aportación de la UE
€ 1 270 800,00
Dirección
HOFGARTENSTRASSE 8
80539 Munchen
Alemania

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Región
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Tipo de actividad
Research Organisations
Contacto administrativo
Bjoern Sack-Kuehner (Mr.)
Investigador principal
Gáspár Jékely (Dr.)
Enlaces
Coste total
Sin datos

Beneficiarios (1)