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Talk by Anna Ziegler

Title: "Lipids - Architects of the developing brain"
Occasion: CRC - Seminar
Start: 20.11.2025, 16:15
Location: CellNanOs, 38/201

About the speaker: Dr. Anna Ziegler conducts research at the Institute for Neurobiology and Behavioral Biology, University of Münste.

The brain is a fat-rich organ. A deregulated lipid homeostasis not only leads to developmental disorders but also to premature death of nerve cells. However, little is known about the regulation of fat metabolism in the brain, especially during development. We therefore investigate changes in the lipidome during brain development using fruit flies as a model organism. Particularly striking here are a sharp increase in triglycerides (TAGs) during the larval stages and subsequent decline during the pupal stages. As TAGs are predominantly stored in lipid droplets, we are currently investigating how the absence of these TAG rich lipid droplets affects the development of the nervous system. In addition, we are investigating how the absence or deregulation of lipids that occur in low concentrations, such as certain sphingolipids, affects nerve cell development and maintenance. To do so, we are using a combination of genetics, histology, mass- spectrometry and a click-chemistry based approach for metabolic tracing of lipids.