A radical sense of direction: signalling and mechanism in cryptochrome magnetoreception.
The remarkable phenomenon of magnetoreception in migratory birds and other organisms has fascinated biologists for decades. Much evidence has accumulated to suggest that birds sense the magnetic field of the Earth using photochemical transformations in cryptochrome flavoproteins. In the last 5 years this highly interdisciplinary field has seen advances in structural biology, biophysics, spin chemistry, and genetic studies in model organisms. We review these developments and consider how this chemical signal can be integrated into the cellular response.
Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK. charlotte.dodson@chem.ox.ac.uk
Charlotte A
CA
Dodson
P J
PJ
Hore
Mark I
MI
Wallace
D000818:Animals; D056931:Cryptochromes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004255:Deoxyribodipyrimidine Photo-Lyase / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology
D056931:Cryptochromes; D004255:Deoxyribodipyrimidine Photo-Lyase
cryptochrome; magnetoreception; photolyase; radical pair hypothesis