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Avian ultraviolet/violet cones identified as probable magnetoreceptors
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 5, p e20091 (2011)
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- Background: The Radical-Pair-Model postulates that the reception of magnetic compass directions in birds is based on spin-chemical reactions in specialized photopigments in the eye, with cryptochromes discussed as candidate molecules. But so far, the exact subcellular characterization of these molecules in the retina remained unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings: We here describe the localization of cryptochrome 1a (Cry1a) in the retina of European robins, Erithacus rubecula, and domestic chickens, Gallus gallus, two species that have been shown to use the magnetic field for compass orientation. In both species, Cry1a is present exclusively in the ultraviolet/violet (UV/V) cones that are distributed across the entire retina. Electron microscopy shows Cry1a in ordered bands along the membrane discs of the outer segment, and cell fractionation reveals Cry1a in the membrane fraction, suggesting the possibility that Cry1a is anchored along membranes. Conclusions/Significance: We provide first structural evidence that Cry1a occurs within a sensory structure arranged in a way that fulfils essential requirements of the Radical-Pair-Model. Our findings, identifying the UV/V-cones as probable magnetoreceptors, support the assumption that Cry1a is indeed the receptor molecule mediating information on magnetic directions, and thus provide the Radical-Pair-Model with a profound histological background.
- Subjects :
- Erithacus
Ultraviolet Rays
Visual System
Receptor molecule
lcsh:Medicine
Biology
medicine.disease_cause
Magnetics
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cryptochrome
ddc:570
medicine
Animals
Photopigment
Passeriformes
lcsh:Science
Retina
Multidisciplinary
Behavior, Animal
lcsh:R
fungi
Magnetoreception
Anatomy
biology.organism_classification
Cone Opsins
Animal Cognition
Sensory Systems
Cryptochromes
Protein Transport
medicine.anatomical_structure
Biophysics
Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells
lcsh:Q
Membrane fraction
Chickens
Ultraviolet
Research Article
Neuroscience
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 6
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....0b827d41208ebbbecdb7d70ae7a7af5b