Research Topic
Our lab investigates regressive events during neuronal morphogenesis, in particular, pruning, the regulated degeneration of neurites without loss of the parent neuron. Pruning is a very important mechanism during neuronal circuit formation, yet it is still incompletely understood at the cell biological level. We use Drosophila peripheral sensory c4da neurons as a model to study pruning. These neurons specifically prune their long and branched larval dendrites at the onset of metamorphosis in a manner depending on the molting hormone ecdysone. Dendrite pruning requires the local destruction of the dendritic cytoskeleton and the remodeling of plasma membrane composition and cell adhesion. We are particularly interested in the question how dendrite degeneration is triggered, and how severing sites are marked. Our recent results suggest that both of these processes are linked to the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton and plasma membrane trafficking. In a second line of investigation, we are interested in posttranscriptional gene regulation mechanisms during metamorphosis.
Selected Publications
- Wolterhoff, N., Gigengack, U., and Rumpf, S. (2020) PP2A Phosphatase Is Required for Dendrite Pruning via Actin Regulation in Drosophila. EMBO Rep doi: 10.15252/embr.201948870.
- Krämer, R. Rode, S., and Rumpf, S. (2019) Rab11 is Required for Dendrite Pruning and Developmental Membrane Protein Degradation in Drosophila Sensory Neurons. Dev Biol 451, 68-78.
- Rumpf, S., Wolterhoff, N., and Herzmann, S. (2019). Functions of Microtubule Disassembly during Neurite Pruning. Trends Cell Biol 29, 291-297.
- Rode, S., Ohm, H., Anhäuser, L., Wagner, M., Rosing, M., Deng, X., Sin, O., Leidel, S. A.,Storkebaum, E., Rentmeister, A., Zhu, S., and Rumpf, S. (2018). Differential Requirement for Translation Initiation Factor Pathways During Ecdysone-Dependent Neuronal Remodeling in Drosophila. Cell Rep 24, 2287-99.
- Herzmann, S., Götzelmann, I., Reekers, L. F., and Rumpf, S. (2018). Spatial regulation of microtubule disruption during dendrite pruning in Drosophila. Development 145, pii: dev156950.
- Rode, S., Ohm, H., Zipfel, J., and Rumpf, S. (2017). The spliceosome-associated protein Mfap1 binds to VCP in Drosophila. PLoS One 12, e0183733.
- Herzmann, S., Krumkamp, R., Rode, S., Kintrup, C., and Rumpf, S. (2017) PAR-1 promotes microtubule breakdown during dendrite pruning in Drosophila. EMBO J 36, 1981-91.
- Rumpf S., Bagley J. A., Thompson-Peer, K. L., Zhu, S., Gorczyca, D., Beckstead, R. B., Jan, L. Y., and Jan, Y. N. (2014) Drosophila Valosin-Containing Protein is required for dendrite pruning through a regulatory role in mRNA metabolism. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111, 7331-6.
- Rumpf, S., Lee, S. B., Jan, L. Y., and Jan, Y. N. (2011) Neuronal remodeling and apoptosis require VCP-mediated degradation of the apoptosis inhibitor DIAP1. Development 138, 1153-60.
- Yang, C. H., Rumpf, S., Xiang, Y., Gordon, M. D., Song, W., Jan, L. Y., and Jan, Y. N. (2009) Control of the postmating behavioral switch in Drosophila females by internal sensory neurons. Neuron 61, 519-26.