The main focus of our research is to study the regulation of vesicular membrane transport required for neuro-peptide release and cellular homoeostasis linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’ disease. We are using the small (1 mm) nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a multicellular model system to study these processes by combining molecular biology and genetics with high-resolution microscopy ranging from confocal to electron microscopy techniques. In particular, recently we have successfully applied high-resolution live-cell imaging to follow intracellular membrane trafficking events in vivo in real time. This is possible as C. elegans is completely transparent throughout development as well as in the adult stage. Therefore it is perfectly suited for microscopy applications. Due to its short reproductive cycle of 3 days and adult mean lifespan of 20 days, C. elegans also serves as a main model organism to study aging at the cellular as well as at an organismal level. Using C. elegans, our group has three main fields of interest:
