Intercellular communication across synaptic contacts is key to brain function. We aim to uncover principles underlying the assembly and context-dependent reorganization of synapses. To this end, we apply genetic, molecular and imaging techniques to a well-established model system for glutamatergic synapses, the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). A particular focus is on the pre- and postsynaptic interplay of evolutionary conserved scaffold proteins, cell adhesion molecules and ion pumps and how it affects synaptic architecture and transmission.
