The Zebrafish Neuroimaging Group aims to understand the molecular and cell biological mechanisms that govern the migration of neuronal precursor cells in the developing central nervous system and in particular in the cerebellum.

By combining mutant and transgenic cell analysis with time-lapse imaging we try to elucidate how migrating neuronal precursors co-ordinate proliferation and initiate migration, interact with co-migrating cells, make pathfinding decisions, stop migration and adopt a specific fate directly in the living organism. Moreover, we establish bio-imaging accessible disease models for neuroblastoma formation, neuronal migration and neurodegeneration disorders for elucidating mechanisms of disease-etiology, characterizing neuroregenerative processes and developing disease-interfering and preventing strategies.

In addition, we are establishing behavioral assays to evaluate the locomotive capacities of zebrafish larvae and adults allowing us to relate in vivo molecule, organelle and cell bio-imaging observations in the cerebellum to the functional consequences for the organism.

T. K. Oberoi, T. Dogan, J. C. Hocking, J. Mooz, R.-P. Scholz, M. J. Mooz, C. L. Anderson, C. Karreman, D. Meyer zu Heringdorf, G. Schmidt, M. Ruonala, K. Namikawa, G. S. Harms, A. Carpy, B. Macek, R. W. Köster, K. Rajalingma (2011). IAPs regulate the plasticity of cell migration by directly targeting Rac1 for degradation. EMBO Journal (in press)

K. J. Hoegler, M. Distel, R. W. Köster, J. H. Horne (2011). Targeting olfactory bulb neurons using combined in vivo electroporation and Gal4-based enhancer trap zebrafish lines. Journal of Visualized Experiments 54: doi: 10.3791/2964.

M. Distel, J. C. Hocking, R. W. Köster (2011). In vivo cell biology using Gal4 mediated multicolour subcellular labelling in zebrafish. Communicative & Integrative Biology 4: doi: 10.4151/cib.4.3.15037.

M. F. Wullimann, T. Mueller, M. Distel, A. Babaryka, B. Grothe, R. W. Köster (2011). Review article: The long adventurous journey of rhombic lip cells in jawed vertebrates: a comparative developmental analysis. Frontiers of Neuroanatomy 5: 27. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2011.00027.

C. Santoriello, E. Gennaro, V. Anelli, M. Distel, R. W. Köster, A. Hurlstone, M. Mione (2010). Kita driven expression of oncogenic HRAS leads to early onset and highly penetrant melanoma in zebrafish. PLoS ONE 5: e15170.

M. Distel, J. Hocking, K. Volkmann, R. W. Köster (2010). The centrosome neither persistently leads migration nor determines the site of axonogenesis in migrating neurons in vivo. Journal of Cell Biology 191: 875-890.

M. Distel, J. Hocking, R. W. Köster (2010). Imaging the cell biology of neuronal migration in zebrafish. In “Live imaging in Zebrafish: Insights into Development and Disease” World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 35-69. (book chapter)

K. Volkmann, Y.-Y. Chen, M. Harris, M. F. Wullimann, R. W. Köster (2010). The zebrafish cerebellar upper rhombic lip generates tegmental hindbrain nuclei by long-distance migration in an evolutionary conserved manner. Journal of Comparative Neurology 518: 2794-2817.

E. Kühn, R. W. Köster (2010). Analysis of gene expression by in situ hybridization on adult zebrafish brain sections. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Vol. 2010. doi:10.1101/pdb.prot5382.

V. Anelli, C. Santoriello, M. Distel, R. W. Köster, F. Ciccarelli, M. Mione (2009). Global repression of cancer gene expression in a zebrafish model of melanoma is linked to epigenetic regulation. Zebrafish 6: 417-424.

S. Rieger, N. Senghaas, A. Walch, R. W. Köster (2009). Cadherin-2 controls directional chain migration of cerebellar granule neurons. PLoS Biology 7: e1000240. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000240.

M. Distel, M. F. Wullimann, R. W. Köster (2009). Optimized Gal4-genetics for permanent gene expression mapping in zebrafish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) 106: 13365-13370.

D. Razansky, M. Distel, C. Vinegoni, R. Ma, N. Perrimon, R. W. Köster, V. Ntziachristos (2009). Multispectral opto-acoustic tomography of deep-seated fluorescent proteins in vivo. Nature Photonics 3: 412-417.

N. Nikolaou, T. Watanabe-Asaka, S. Gerety, M. Distel, R. W. Köster, D. G. Wilkinson (2009). Lunatic fringe promotes the lateral inhibition of neurogenesis in the zebrafish hindbrain. Development 136: 2523-2533.

R. W. Köster, S. E. Fraser (2009). Time-lapse microscopy of brain development. In “Essential Zebrafish Methods” Elsevier Press, Philadelphia, USA , 293-323. (book chapter)

N. Senghaas, R. W. Köster (2009). Culturing and transfecting Pac2 zebrafish fibroblasts cells. . Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Vol. 4. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot5235.

L. Flinn, H. Mortiboys, K. Volkmann, R. W. Köster, O. Bandmann (2009). Complex I deficiency and dopaminergic neuronal cell loss in parkin-deficient zebrafish (Danio rerio). Brain 132: 1613-1623.

D. Paquet, Ratan Bhat, E.-M. Mandelkow, S. Berg, S. Hellberg, J. Lindquist, M. Distel, R. W. Köster, B. Schmid, C. Haass (2009). A novel Tau transgenic zebrafish model for drug discovery. Journal of Clinical Investigations 119: 1382-1395.

A. Babaryka, E. Kühn, R. W. Köster (2009). In vivo synthesis of meganuclease results in efficient transgenesis in zebrafish. Journal of Fish Biology 74: 452-457.

Y. Chu, N. Senghaas, R. W. Köster, W. Wurst, R. Kühn (2008). Novel Caspase-suicide proteins for tamoxifen-inducible apoptosis. Genesis 46: 530-536.

K. Volkmann, S. Rieger, A. Babaryka, R. W. Köster (2008). The zebrafish cerebellar rhombic lip is spatially subdivided in producing granule cell populations of different functional compartments. Developmental Biology 313: 167-180.

S. Rieger, K. Volkmann, R. W. Köster (2008). Polysialyltransferase expression is linked to neuronal migration in the developing and adult zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics 237: 276-285.

K. Volkmann, R. W. Köster (2007). In vivo retrograde labeling of neurons in the zebrafish embryo or larvae with rhodamine dextrane. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Vol. 2. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot4832.

M. Distel, R. W. Köster (2007). In vivo time-lapse imaging of zebrafish embryonic development. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Vol. 2. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot4816.

S. Rieger, R. W. Köster (2007). Preparation of zebrafish embryos for transmission electron microscopy. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Vol. 2. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot4772.

R. W. Köster, S. E. Fraser (2006). FGF-signaling mediates regeneration of the differentiating zebrafish cerebellum through repatterning of the anterior hindbrain and reinitiation of neuronal migration. Journal of Neuroscience 26: 7293-7304.

M. Distel, A. Babaryka, R. W. Köster (2006). Multicolor in vivo time-lapse imaging at cellular resolution by stereomicroscopy. Developmental Dynamics 235: 843-845.

·      Zebrafish Developmental Genetics

·      Genetic modeling of neurodegenerative diseases

·      Live cell imaging