Magnetic imaging of putative magnetoreceptors (Sig02)

• Subject Area: Biophysics
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395940726

To achieve a comprehensive understanding of magnetoreception and vertebrate navigation, it is important to investigate the basic biophysical mechanisms enabling the animals to sense the required cues in their environment. The aim of this project is to identify a structural candidate for a putative magnetite-based magnetoreceptor in sensory nerve endings of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve in fishes und birds. For this purpose, we will use light-microscopy combined with spatially resolved magnetometry to detect magnetic particles in neuronally labelled tissue slices and electron microscopy to reveal their ultrastructure.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1372: Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates: from biophysics to brain and behaviour
• Applicant Institution: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Michael Winklhofer