What are we researching with animals?
Research with zebrafish
Zebrafish are a cornerstone of modern laboratory animal research. Their ease of care ad breeding and suitability for addressing a wide range of biological questions make them invaluable.
Nobel laureate Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard’s Emeritus Research Group and Uwe Irion’s Research Group are fascinated by zebrafish’s striking blue-back and golden stripes. They investigate how these patterns develop, identifying the cells, genes, and regulatory elements involved. By genetically modifying zebrafish and observing pattern changes, the team uncovers fundamental principles of development and evolution. These stripes aren’t just decorative; they influence reproduction and camouflage. The insights gained could potentially apply to other cells and bodily functions, as fish pigment cells originate from neural precursor cells.
Research with mice
Billions of microorganisms colonise the body - on the skin, for example, or in the gut. In doing so, they influence the organism's health, both positively and negatively. Ruth Ley, Director of the Department of Microbiome Science, uses laboratory mice to investigate how the microbiome, the entirety of all microorganisms in the gut, affects health and how incorrect colonisation promotes obesity, diabetes and chronic autoimmune diseases, among other things. For this purpose, the mice are inoculated with different bacterial cultures. The changes in the mouse body due to the experiments are minor; the mice are healthy and show small differences in weight of around 4g compared to the control group.
Research with rabbits, gerbils
Adrian Streit, group leader of the parasitic Nematode research group, is investigating the molecular biological and genetic basis for the life cycle, the switch between parasitic and free-living forms and the reproduction of parasitic nematodes. To breed them, he needs rabbits, rats and gerbils that are inoculated with the nematodes, which then live in the rodents' intestines. The host animals remain completely healthy.
Research with nematodes and leaf beetles
Ralf Sommer, Director of the Department of Integrative Evolutionary Biology, and Yen-Ping Hsueh, Director of the Department of Complex Biological Interactions work with nematodes as model organisms. Nematodes (also known as roundworms) are just a few millimetres in size serve as model organisms for researchers in this department to understand the emergence of biodiversity. While simultaneously focusing on developmental biology, ecology and population genetics, the researchers gain insights into the mechanisms behind evolutionary innovations and the principles of divergence.
The interaction between nematodes and the leaf-horned beetles they colonise is the focus of Matthias Herrmann's working group within the same department as Ralf Sommer.
Hassan Salem, Max Planck Research Group Leader who works on Mutualisms, works with tortoise leaf beetles to understand the symbiotic partnerships between microorganisms.