/ ABOUT FOR5228

The DFG – funded research unit Syntophagy “Membrane trafficking processes underlying presynaptic proteostasis” (5228) will address the specific contributions of autophagy, proteasome-mediated and endolysosomal degradation to presynaptic proteostasis.

The research projects deal with questions like how are presynaptic function and, importantly, plasticity regulated by autophagy? How is autophagy regulated locally? How do non-canonical functions of autophagosomes (e.g. signalling, exocytosis) impact on presynaptic development, maintenance and function? The participating labs cover a broad range of techniques and are at the technological forefront in molecular neuroscience research.

The teams of Syntophagy will be looking for shared mechanisms across different scales – from individual synapses to animal behaviour – from development to aging and from maintenance to functional plasticity.