Network of European Neuroscience Institutes (ENI-NET)
Our resarch touches upon three fundamental questions in neuroscience: how does the functional architecture of the nervous system assemble during development? How are the properties of its cellular components tuned to facilitate neural network function? And how can the nervous system be protected from or restored after injury and disease? Our desire is to resolve cellular and molecular events underlying these processes and to understand their contribution to nervous system structure, function and/or dysfunction in the context of the organism. To achieve this, we exploit the unique position of the neuromuscular and peripheral nervous systems at the interface of brain and body to link aspects of neural wiring and firing to readily measurable outputs to movement apparatus or organ function in the mouse. We employ a cross-disciplinary approach comprising molecular genetic, cell biological and electrophysiological techniques, combined with movement analysis and neuromuscular output assays, to resolve molecular pathways promoting functional diversification, plasticity and vulnerability in the neuromuscular system (project area I) and mechanisms driving axon-axon and axon-glia signaling in peripheral circuit assembly or pathology (project area II).
For more information, please go to: http://www.eni.gwdg.de/index.php?id=169
Wang, L., Mongera, A., Bonanomi, D., Cyganek, L., Pfaff, S.L., Nüsslein-Volhard, N., and Marquardt, T. (2014). A conserved axon-type hierarchy governing peripheral nerve assembly. Development 141 (9): In Press.
Müller, D., Cherukuri, P., Henningfeld, K., Poh, C.P., Wittler, L., Grote, P., Schlüter, O., Schmidt, J., Laborda, J., Bauer, S.R., Brownstone, R.M., and Marquardt, T. (2014). Dlk1 promotes a fast motor neuron biophysical signature required for peak-force execution. Science 343: 1264-1266.
Wang, L. and Marquardt, T. (2012). Live monitoring of heterotypic axonal interactions in vitro. Nature Protocols 7: 351-363.
Bonanomi, D., Chivatakarn, O., Bai, G., Lettieri, K., Abdesselem, H., Marquardt, T., Pierchala, B.A. and Pfaff, S.L. (2012). Ret is a multifunctional co-receptor that integrates diffusible- and contact-axon guidance signals. Cell 148: 568-582.
Wang, L., Klein, R., Zheng, B. and Marquardt, T. (2011). Anatomical coupling of sensory and motor nerve trajectory through axon tracking. Neuron 71: 263-277.
Gallarda, B., Bonanomi, D., Müller, D., Brown, A., Alaynick, W.A., Lemke, G., Pfaff, S.L. and Marquardt, T. (2008). Segregation of axial sensory and motor pathways through heterotypic trans-axonal signaling. Science 320: 233-236.
A full publication record can be found here.