Function and properties of the adhesion-G-protein-coupled receptor latrophilin in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Tobias Langenhan
• Subject Area: Developmental Neurobiology
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 174980912

This project aims to investigate the molecular function of latrophilins, an individual class of adhesion-GPCRs, which are involved in synaptic neurotransmission and tissue polarization during development. To date it is unclear whether latrophilins exert their role in neural tissue by controlling synaptic exocytotic events, by participating in developmental functions, or by alternative means. Recent results on latrophilin function obtained in the roundworm C. elegans have uncovered essential developmental roles for latrophilins during neuroectodermal development and show that latrophilins partake in the establishment of primordial polarity. A possible role for latrophilins in mechanisms that govern the establishment or maintenance of structural and functional synaptic polarity has not been addressed to date. In the course of the proposed project the hypothesis will be tested whether the latrophilin receptor homolog of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster engages in the establishment tissue polarity ofthe eye and epidermal appendages ofthe abdomen and the wing. Secondly, the impact of latrophilin removal at a defined and well-characterized synaptic layout, the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila, will be investigated. This set of experiments will address the hypothesis that latrophilin function is involved in synaptic vesicle exocytosis. The project objectives require the generation of transgenic fly strains, structural and ultrastructural microscopy, in vivo imaging, and high-resolving electrophysiology.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants