title: Engineering an Artificial Flavoprotein Magnetosensor.
abstract: Migratory birds use the Earth's magnetic field as a source of navigational information. This light-dependent magnetic compass is thought to be mediated by cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Upon light activation, electron transfer between the flavin adenine dinucleotide cofactor and tryptophan residues leads to the formation of a spin-correlated radical pair, whose subsequent fate is sensitive to external magnetic fields. To learn more about the functional requirements of this complex chemical compass, we have created a family of simplified, adaptable proteins-maquettes-that contain a single tryptophan residue at different distances from a covalently bound flavin. Despite the complete absence of structural resemblance to the native cryptochrome fold or sequence, the maquettes exhibit a strong magnetic field effect that rivals those observed in the natural proteins in vitro. These novel maquette designs offer unprecedented flexibility to explore the basic requirements for magnetic sensing in a protein environment.
authors.affiliation: Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bialas
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Jarocha
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kevin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Henbest
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tilo M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Zollitsch
authors.affiliation: Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Goutham
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6356-9016
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kodali
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christiane R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Timmel
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart R
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3166-8631
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.affiliation: Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
authors.forename: P Leslie
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Dutton
authors.affiliation: Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: P J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8863-570X
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hore
mesh_terms: D005420:Flavoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D000072756:Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical; D015202:Protein Engineering
chemical_list: D005420:Flavoproteins