If I only had a heart: how does the beetle heart form?
- Beschreibung
The heart is one of the first organs to develop in an embryo. Although the basic processes of heart development are similar across many animal species, insect hearts show a surprising variety of shapes and structures. Understanding how these structures form can help us uncover the fundamental principles of organ development.
During beetle (Tribolium castaneum) heart development, the two halves of the heart come together and change shape. These movements require cells to generate and coordinate forces. Two key players are actin and myosin, proteins that work together to produce contractile forces inside cells. However, we still know relatively little about how these proteins control the movements of the heart during development.
In this project, you will use live microscopy to watch beetle embryos develop. Using fluorescent markers that reveal actin, myosin and the heart, you will capture time-lapse movies and investigate how cells and tissues move and change shape during development.
You will explore how processes at different scales—from the organisation of proteins inside individual cells, to changes in cell shape, to the movement of entire tissues—work together to shape the embryo.
What will you gain from this project?
- Learn how to prepare and live-image developing beetle embryos using fluorescence microscopy.
- Capture beautiful time-lapse movies of embryonic development, including heart formation.
- Investigate how cells coordinate their movements to shape developing tissues.
- Learn how to analyse images quantitatively and use data to answer biological questions.
This project offers a hands-on introduction to developmental biology, microscopy and quantitative image analysis.
- Beschreibung des interdisziplinären Teils des Projekts
- This project will combine traditional wet-lab biology (live imaging of transgenic lines) with quantitative image analysis methods such as cell segmentation. No prior experience is required.
- Projektzeitraum
- Wintersemester 2026/2027 und Sommersemester 2027
- Bewerbungszeitraum
- 12. bis 26.10.2026
- Durchführung
- semesterbegleitend
- Details zu Projektzeitraum und Durchführung
The project can be carried out as a block module or over a semester, depending on the student’s availability and schedule. The exact timeline and workload is flexible and will be individually arranged.
- Studienfach
- offen für alle Studienfächer
- Betreuende
- Dr. Shannon Taylor
- Institut
- Institut für Biologie (190) (Department of Molecular Genetics)
- Sprache
- englisch
- Teilnehmendenanzahl
- min. 2, max. 3
- Arbeitsaufwand
-
ca. 90 Stunden pro Teilnehmende:r
| 3
ECTS-Punkte
Arbeitsaufwand (Stunden und ggf. ECTS) sind ungefähre Angaben. Die tatsächlich vergebenen ECTS-Punkte ergeben sich aus der tatsächlich geleisteten Arbeit.
- Für dieses Projekt ist ein Motivationsschreiben des Studierenden erforderlich
- Projektart
- experimentell
- Lernziele
-
Die Teilnehmende lernen in diesem Projekt:
Students will gain an introduction to developmental biology, quantitative biology, and quantitative image analysis, and executing their own research project. This project could go in both experimental and quantitative/image analysis directions, according to the student's interest.
- Anmerkungen für Studierende
No prior experience is required, but students must have good working English.
- Schlagworte
- genetics, Image analysis, Developmental biology, Genetik, Entwicklungsbiologie