title: Alternative radical pairs for cryptochrome-based magnetoreception.
abstract: There is growing evidence that the remarkable ability of animals, in particular birds, to sense the direction of the Earth's magnetic field relies on magnetically sensitive photochemical reactions of the protein cryptochrome. It is generally assumed that the magnetic field acts on the radical pair [FAD•- TrpH•+] formed by the transfer of an electron from a group of three tryptophan residues to the photo-excited flavin adenine dinucleotide cofactor within the protein. Here, we examine the suitability of an [FAD•- Z•] radical pair as a compass magnetoreceptor, where Z• is a radical in which the electron spin has no hyperfine interactions with magnetic nuclei, such as hydrogen and nitrogen. Quantum spin dynamics simulations of the reactivity of [FAD•- Z•] show that it is two orders of magnitude more sensitive to the direction of the geomagnetic field than is [FAD•- TrpH•+] under the same conditions (50 µT magnetic field, 1 µs radical lifetime). The favourable magnetic properties of [FAD•- Z•] arise from the asymmetric distribution of hyperfine interactions among the two radicals and the near-optimal magnetic properties of the flavin radical. We close by discussing the identity of Z• and possible routes for its formation as part of a spin-correlated radical pair with an FAD radical in cryptochrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, , Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK.
authors.forename: Alpha A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jason C S
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Hannah J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hogben
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Biskup
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Kattnig
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056931:Cryptochromes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D056931:Cryptochromes; D005609:Free Radicals; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide; D014364:Tryptophan
keywords: animal navigation; flavin; magnetic compass; radical pair mechanism; spin dynamics