BScandMScprojectsintheAppliedZoologylabInourlab,weseekanswerstofundamentalzoologicalquestions,suchasdeterminantsofmale(in)fertility,theroleofmito-nuclearinteractionsonmetabolism,thephenotypeandonevolutionarychange.Wealsostudythegeneticsandmaterialpropertiesoftheinsectskin.

Contact:@tu-dresden.de

SPERMBIOLOGY

biz.turnell@

FitnesseffectsofspermageandmetabolismSpermproducereactiveoxygenspecies(ROS)thatcanacceleratetheirownageing.DospermofoldmaleagefasterandproducepooroffspringinDrosophila?Istheresexualselectiononspermageatpre-orpostcopulatorylevel?DospermfromDrosophilahigh-ROSlinesagemorequicklyinmalesandfemales?Reinhardt2007.Quart.ReviewofBiology82:375-393.Pizzarietal.2007.TrendsinEcology&Evolution23:131-140,Sanzetal2010,Aging2:200-223.

cornelia.wetzker@

AutofluorescencelifetimeimagingofcellmetabolismThemetabolicstateofcellsandtissuesisstronglyassociatedwiththeco-enzymeNADH.Weusetheinnovativetechniqueoffluorescencelifetimeimagingmicroscopy(FLIM)tostudythemetabolismofspermstoredinmaleandfemalefruitfliesofwildtypeortransgenicbackground.Wefurtherexplorestructuralaspectsofreproductivetissuesininsects(image:spermstorageorganspermathecaofafemalefruitfly).

cornelia.wetzker@

MolecularbiologyofspermmaturationandmetabolismInthefinalstagesofspermatogenesis,thespermchromatiniscompacteddramaticallytoachieveareducedspermheadsize.Thiseventismediatedthroughthenearlyentirereplacementofnuclearhistoneswiththebasicproteinsprotamines.Weexploretheroleofprotaminesandotherfactorsinthematurationandmetabolismofsperminfruitflies

klaus.reinhardt@

Canspermevolveinresponsetointeractionswithmicrobes?Dosexuallytransmittedmicrobesshapetheevolutionofspermfunction?Donewspeciesevolvebecauseofsexuallytransmitteddiseasesdifferindifferenthabitats?Lockhartetal.1996.Biol.Reviews71:415-471,Reinhardtetal.2016.AnnualRevEcol,Evol,System46:435-459.

INTERACTIONSBETWEENMITOCHONDRIAANDTHENUCLEUS

ralph.dobler@

Ecologyandevolutionofmitochondrial-nuclearinteractions Arepopulationdynamicsaffectedbymito-nuclearinteractions?Whatisthemitochondrialcontributiontobodysize,spermoreggsizeorotherfitness-relatedtraits?Donewspeciesarisebymito-nuclearco-evolution?Dowling2014Biochim.Biophys.Acta1840:1393-1403,Dobleretal.2014JEvol.Biol.27:2012-2034,Hill2016Ecol&Evol6:5831-5842

susanne.voigt@

Physiologyofspecificmitochondrial-nuclearcrosstalksDoesthemismatchedpairingofmitochondrialandnucleargenescausephysiologicalandhealtheffectsinDrosophila.Arephysiologicalmismatcheseradicatedbyselection?Picard&Wallace2016.Mitochondrion30:105-116//Gershonietal.2014,GenomeBiologyandEvolution6:2665-2680.

FUNCTIONOFTHEINSECTCUTICLE

bernard.moussian@

Molecularbiologyandgeneticsoftheinsectcuticle Howdoesthecuticle adoptitsfunctionasabarrieragainstwaterloss,pathogensandxenobiotics,andasanexoskeleton?Methods:CRISPR/Cas9,atomic-force,light,confocal&electronmicroscopy.MoussianB.2016.MolecularModelofSkeletalOrganizationandDifferentiation.In:ExtracellularCompositeMatricesinArthropods(ECohen,BMoussian)Springer,Wangetal.2017:JExpBiol.220:1396-99.Wangetal.2016:ProcBiolSci283:20152994

bernard.moussian@

Sex-biasedexpressionofcuticularenzymesHowdoestheexpressionofspecificgeneschangeduringcuticledevelopment?Howdoestheexpressionofspecificgenesdifferbetweenmalesandfemales?Howdoesgeneexpressionofcuticlegenesdifferacrossorgans?Gangishettietal.2012.EuropeanJournalofCellBiology21:283-295MoussianB.2010.InsectBiochemistryandMolecularBiology40:363-75.

klaus.reinhardt@

GenitaliaevolutionDoesnaturalselectionagainstinfectionaffecttheevolutionofgenitaliashapeandform?Whatisthedisadvantageofcomplexgenitalia?Domaleandfemalegenitaliahavespecificcuticleproperties?Reinhardt2010.Genetica138:119–127,Bar-Onetal.2014,NatureCommunications5:3894,Michelsetal.2015.JRoyalSoc.Interface20141107.

OTHER

klaus.reinhardt@

CulturalhistoryofinsectsWhatisthehistoryofbedbugsinDresdenandSaxony?HowarebedbugsrepresentedinfilmsorTVsitcoms?Howareinsectsrepresentedinchildren'sbooks.ReinhardtK.2014.LiterarischeWanzen.