Prof. Dr. Basil el Jundi
Prof. Dr. Basil el Jundi
Werdegang
seit 2025 Professor | Universität Oldenburg
2022 - 2025 Assoc. Professor | NTNU Trondheim | Norwegen
2017 - 2022 Gruppenleiter | Universität Würzburg
2012 - 2017 Postdoc | Lund Universität | Schweden
2008 - 2011 Doktorand | Universität Marburg
2003 - 2008 Diplomstudium Biologie | Universität Marburg
Forschungsinteresse
Meine Forschung zielt darauf ab zu verstehen, wie Insekten verschiedene sensorisch Signale in ihrer Umgebung nutzen, um sich räumlich zu orientieren, und wie diese Signale im Gehirn verarbeitet werden. Ich begann meine Forschung als Doktorand im Labor von Uwe Homberg (Universität Marburg, Deutschland), wo ich das Himmelskompass-Netzwerk im Gehirn der Wüstenheuschrecke anatomisch und elektrophysiologisch untersuchte. Anschließend war ich Postdoc und wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter im Labor von Marie Dacke in der Lund Vision Group (Universität Lund, Schweden), wo ich die Kompassorientierung südafrikanischer Mistkäfer mittels elektrophysiologischer, neuroanatomischer und verhaltensbezogener Experimente untersuchte. Seit 2017 beschäftige ich mich außerdem mit der Erforschung des Wanderverhaltens des nordamerikanischen Monarchfalters. Um zu verstehen, wie diese Insekten verschiedene Orientierungssignale nutzen, um zu ihrem Überwinterungsplatz in Zentralmexiko zu finden, kombinieren wir verhaltensbezogene, anatomische und elektrophysiologische Ansätze.
Publikationen
1. Belušič G, el Jundi B (2024) Polarization sensitivity in butterflies. In: Horváth G (ed.), Polarization Vision and Environmental Polarized Light, Springer, pp. 73-87 [book chapter].
2. Dacke M, el Jundi B (2024) Polarization vision and orientation in ball-rolling dung beetles. In: Horváth G (ed.), Polarization Vision and Environmental Polarized Light, Springer, pp. 39-52 [book chapter].
3. Konnerth MM, Foster JJ, el Jundi B, Spaethe J, Beetz MJ (2023) Monarch butterflies memorize the spatial location of a food source. Proc R Soc B 290:20231574.
4. Beetz MJ, Kraus C, el Jundi B (2023) Neural representation of goal direction in the monarch butterfly brain. Nature Comm 14:5859.
5. Beetz MJ, el Jundi B (2023) The neurobiology of the Monarch butterfly compass. Curr Opin Insect Sci 60: 101109 [review].
6. Beetz MJ, el Jundi B (2023) The influence of stimulus history on the directional coding in the monarch butterfly brain. J Comp Physiol A 209: 663-677.
7. Grob R, el Jundi B (2023) Insect navigation: Where to face when moving through space. Curr Biol 33, R100–R103. [dispatch].
8. Yilmaz A, el Jundi B, Belušič G, Byrne M, Baird E, Dacke M (2022) Mechanisms of spectral orientation in a diurnal dung beetle. Phil Trans R Soc B 377: 20210287.
9. Nguyen TAT, Beetz MJ, Merlin C, Pfeiffer K, el Jundi B (2022) Weighting of celestial and terrestrial cues in the monarch butterfly central complex. Front Neural Circuits 16:862279.
10. Schmalz F, el Jundi B, Rössler W, Strube-Bloss MF (2022) Categorizing visual information in subpopulations of honeybee mushroom body output neurons. Front Physiol 13: 866807.
11. Franzke M, Kraus C, Gayler M, Dreyer D, Pfeiffer K, el Jundi B (2022) Stimulus-dependent orientation strategies in monarch butterflies. J Exp Biol 225: jeb243687.
12. Beetz MJ, Kraus C, Franzke M, Dreyer D, Strube-Bloss MF, Rössler W, Warrant EJ, Merlin C, el Jundi B (2022) Flight-induced compass representation in the monarch butterfly heading network. Curr Biol 32: 338-349.
13. Heinze S, el Jundi B, Berg B, Homberg U, Menzel R, Pfeiffer K, Hensgen R, Zitrrell F, Dacke M, Warrant EJ, Pfuhl G, Rybak J, Tedore K (2021) A unified platform to manage, share and archive morphological and functional data. eLife 10: e65376.
14. Rother L, Kraft N, Smith DB, el Jundi B, Gill RJ, Pfeiffer K (2021) A micro-CT-based standard brain atals of the bumblebee. Cell Tissue Res 386: 29-45.
15. Grob R, el Jundi B, Fleischmann P (2021) Towards a common terminology for arthropod spatial orientation (2021) Ethol Ecol Evol Special Issue: 1-21 [review].
16. Nguyen TAT, Beetz MJ, Merlin C, el Jundi B (2021) Sun compass neurons are tuned to migratory orientation in monarch butterflies. Proc R Soc B 288: 20202988.
17. el Jundi B, Dacke M (2021) Insect Orientation: The Drosophila wind compass pathway. Curr Biol 31:R83-R85 [dispatch].
18. Dacke M, Baird EJ, el Jundi B, Warrant EJ, Byrne MJ (2021) How dung beetles steer straight. Ann Rev Entomol 66:12.1-12.14 [review].
19. Fabian JM, el Jundi B, Wiederman SD, O'Carroll DC (2020) The complex optic lobes of dragonflies. BioRxiv doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.10.087437.
20. el Jundi B, Wystrach A (2020) Neuroecology of insects: when ultimate and proximate explanations unite. Curr Opin Insect Sci 42: iii-v [editorial].
21. Dacke M, el Jundi B, Gagnon Y, Ylmaz A, Byrne M, Baird E (2020) A dung beetle that path integrates without the use of landmarks, Anim Cogn 23: 1161-1175.
22. el Jundi B, Heinze S (2020) Atlasing of insect brains. In: Pelc R, Doucette JR, Walz W (eds.), Neurohistology and Imaging: Basic techniques. Springer, pp. 73-124 [book chapter].
23. el Jundi B (2020) Underwater path integration: using the celestial dome to get back home. Curr Biol 30:R639-R642. [dispatch].
24. Franzke M, Kraus C, Dreyer D, Pfeiffer K, Beetz MJ, Stoeckl AL, Foster JJ, Warrant EJ, el Jundi B (2020) Spatial orientation based on multiple visual cues in non-migratory monarch butterflies. J Exp Biol 223: jeb223800.
25. Habenstein J, Amini E, Gruebel K, el Jundi B, Roessler W (2020) The brain of Cataglyphis ants: neurnal organization and visual projections. J Comp Neurol 528: 3479-3506.
26. Groothuis J, Pfeiffer K, el Jundi B, Smid HM (2019) The jewel wasp standard brain: average shape atlas and morphology of the female Nasonia vitripennis brain. Arthropod Struct Dev, 100878.
27. Dacke M, Bell ATA, Foster JJ, Baird EJ, Strube-Bloss MF, Byrne MJ, el Jundi B (2019) Multimodal cue integration in the dung beetle compass. PNAS 116:14248-14253.
28. el Jundi B, Baird E, Byrne M, Dacke M (2019) The brain behind straight-line orientation in dung beetles. J Exp Biol 222: jeb192450 [review].
29. Kelber A, Webb B, el Jundi B (2019) Linking brain and behaviour in animal navigation: navigation from genes to maps. J Exp Biol 222: jeb197756 [editorial].
30. Pauls D, Blechschmidt C, Frantzmann F, el Jundi B, Selcho M (2018) A comprehensive anatomical map of the peripheral octopaminergic/tyraminergic system of Drosophila melanogaster. Sci Rep 8:15314.
31. Beetz MJ, el Jundi B (2018) Insect Orientation: stay on course with the sun. Curr Biol 28:R933-R936 [dispatch].
32. el Jundi B, Warrant EJ, Pfeiffer K, Dacke M (2018) Neuroarchitecture of the dung beetle central complex. J Comp Neurol 526:2612-2630.
33. Dacke M, el Jundi B (2018) The dung beetle compass. Curr Biol 28:R993-R997 [primer].
34. Dreyer D, el Jundi B, Kishkinev D, Suchentrunk C, Campostrini L, Frost BJ, Zechmeister T, Warrant EJ (2018) Evidence for a directed autumn migration of nocturnal noctuid moths in Central Europe. J Exp Biol 221: jeb179218.
35. Foster JJ , Kirwan JD, el Jundi B, Smolka J, Khaldy L, Baird EJ, Byrne M, Nilsson D-E, Johnsen S, Dacke M (2018) Orienting to polarized light at night - matching lunar skylight to performance in a nocturnal beetle. J Exp Biol 221:jeb188532.
36. el Jundi B (2017) Insect navigation: how flies keep track of their snack. Curr Biol 27: R748-R750. [dispatch].
37. Immonen EV, Dacke M, Heinze S, el Jundi B (2017) Anatomical organization of the brain of a diurnal and a nocturnal dung beetle. J Comp Neurol 525:1879-1908.
38. Foster JJ, el Jundi B, Smolka J, Khaldy L, Nilsson DE, Byrne MJ, Dacke M (2017) Stellar performance – Mechanisms underlying Milky Way orientation in dung beetles. Phil Trans R Soc B 372:20160079.
39. el Jundi B, Foster JJ, Khaldy L, Byrne MJ, Dacke M, Baird, E (2016) A snapshot-based mechanisms for celestial orientation. Curr Biol 26:1-7.
40. Stoeckl A, Heinze S, Charalabidis A, el Jundi B, Warrant E, Kelber A (2016) A trade-off between vision and olfaction: Brain volume predicts the importance of sensory cues in hawkmoth foraging. Sci Rep 17;626041
41. el Jundi B, Warrant EJ, Byrne MJ, Khaldy L, Baird E, Smolka J, Dacke M (2015) Neural coding underlying the cue preference for celestial orientation. PNAS 112:11395-11400.
42. Smolka J, Baird E, el Jundi B, Byrne MJ, Reber T, Dacke M (2015) Night-sky orientation with diurnal and nocturnal eyes: dim-light adaptations are critical when the moon is out of sight. Anim Behav 111, 127-146.
43. el Jundi B, Foster JJ, Baird E, Byrne MJ, Dacke M (2015) Spectral information as an orientation cue in dung beetles. Biol Letters 11:20150656.
44. Beetz MJ, el Jundi B, Heinze S, Homberg U (2015) Topographic organization and possible function of the posterior optic tubercle in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. J Comp Neurol 523:1589-1607.
45. el Jundi B, Smolka J, Baird E, Byrne M, Dacke M (2014) Diurnal dung beetles use the intensity gradient and the polarization pattern of the sky for orientation. J Exp Biol 217:2422-2429.
46. el Jundi B, Pfeiffer K, Heinze S, Homberg U (2014) Integration of polarization and chromatic cues in the insect sky compass. J Comp Physiol A 200:575-589 [review].
47. Dacke M, el Jundi B, Smolka J, Byrne MJ, Baird E (2014) The role of the sun in the celestial compass of dung beetles, Phil Trans R Soc B 369:20130036.
48. Homberg U, el Jundi B (2013) Polarization vision in arthropods. In: Chalupa LM, Werner JS (eds.), The Visual Neuroscience, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 1207-1217 [book chapter].
49. Heinze S, Florman J, Asokaraj S, el Jundi B, Reppert SM (2013) Anatomical basis of sun compass navigation II: The neuronal composition of the central complex of the monarch butterfly, J Comp Neurol 521:267-298.
50. Smolka J, Baird E, el Jundi B, Byrne MJ, Warrant EJ, Dacke M (2012) Dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge, Curr Biol 22: R863-864.
51. el Jundi B, Homberg U (2012) Receptive field properties and intensity-response functions of polarization-sensitive neurons of the optic tubercle in gregarious and solitarious locusts, J Neurophysiol 108: 1695-1710.
52. Selcho M, Pauls D, el Jundi B, Stocker RF, Thum AS (2012) The role of octopamine and tyramine in Drosophila larval locomotion. J Comp Neurol 520: 3764-3785.
53. Homberg U, Heinze S, Pfeiffer K, Kinoshita M, el Jundi B (2011) Central neural coding of sky polarization in insects. Phil Trans R Soc B 366: 680-687 [review].
54. el Jundi B, Pfeiffer K, Homberg U (2011) A distinct layer of the medulla integrates sky compass signals in the brain of an insect. PLoS One 6(11): e27855. 2010
55. Wei H, el Jundi B, Homberg U, Stengl M (2010) Implementation of pigment-dispersing factor-immunoreactive neurons in a standardized atlas of the brain of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae. J Comp Neurol 518: 4113-4133.
56. el Jundi B, Homberg U (2010) Evidence for the possible existence of a second polarization vision pathway in the locust brain. J Insect Physiol 56: 971-979.
57. Huetteroth W, el Jundi B, el Jundi S, Schachtner J (2010) 3D-reconstructions and virtual 4D-visualization to study metamorphic brain development in the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. Front Syst Neurosci 4:7.
58. Dreyer D, Vitt H, Dippel S, Goetz B, el Jundi B, Kollmann M, Huetteroth W, Schachtner J (2010) 3D standard brain of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum: A tool to study metamorphic development and adult plasticity. Front Syst Neurosci 4:3.
59. el Jundi B, Heinze S, Lenschow C, Kurylas A, Rohlfing T, Homberg U (2010) The locust standard brain: a 3D standard of the central complex as a platform for neural network analysis. Front Syst Neurosci 3:21.
60. el Jundi B, Huetteroth W, Kurylas AE, Schachtner J (2009) Anisometric brain dimorphism revisited: implementation of a volumetric 3D standard brain in Manduca sexta. J Comp Neurol 517: 210-225.
Other Contributions
61. el Jundi B (2019) Basil el Jundi. Curr Biol 29:R305-306 [Q&A].