New research unit on GPCR signaling in organ function and behavior — we are on board!

Whether it’s sudden heat, lurking predators or a shortage of food, animals must react within fractions of a second to survive. This lightning‑fast response depends on the close interplay between the central nervous system – brain and spinal cord – and the autonomic (vegetative) nervous system, which regulates heartbeat, breathing and digestion. At the molecular crossroads of these signaling pathways sit G‑protein‑coupled receptors (GPCRs): just a handful of messengers such as adrenaline or dopamine can activate a variety of receptor subtypes, thereby coordinating the communication between the autonomic and central nervous systems.

We are part of the new collaborative FOR project DynOrg – Dynamic Integration of GPCR Signaling to Control Organ Function and Animal Behavior, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and led by Prof. Dr.  Simon Wiegert from Heidelberg University. This project will, for the first time, systematically and comparatively examine in several animal models how GPCR signals integrate over time and space to fine‑tune physiological states and behavioral responses. Using high‑resolution in vivo neuronal imaging, optogenetics and multi‑omics approaches, the researchers aim to unravel the fundamental principles of these networks–insights that could also prove medically relevant, as dysregulated GPCR signaling plays a key role in a host of disorders, from cardiovascular disease to metabolic syndromes.

Together with Alexander Gottschalk (Goethe University Frankfurt), our group leader Monika Scholz is leading one of the sub‑projects in the FOR. The project centers on the minute nematode C. elegans, whose remarkably simple nervous system is essential to uncovering how GPCRs act in intact organisms. Just 302 neurons form two almost independent networks: a larger somatic nervous system processes sensory input and governs locomotion, while the smaller enteric nervous system controls feeding. Only two neurons provide synaptic connections between the two, raising the question of how coordination is achieved. The answer may lie in non-synaptic signaling. Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin diffuse broadly across the nervous system, often producing distinct—and sometimes opposing—effects within the same cell, depending on which GPCR subtypes are expressed. How this chemical fine-tuning orchestrates behavior is still poorly understood. To solve it, the team will deploy a diverse experimental toolkit, including optogenetics to trigger dopamine and serotonin release in single neurons. Understanding how the two nervous systems in C. elegans coordinate foraging and food intake will shed light on core principles of neuromodulatory control—principles that may extend far beyond the worm.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding seven new Research Units (“Forschungsgruppen”) with a total of around €33 million. Research Units give teams up to eight years to tackle cutting‑edge questions. Overall, the DFG currently supports 188 Research Units.