Acuity of a Cryptochrome and Vision-Based Magnetoreception System in Birds
Acuity of a Cryptochrome and Vision-Based Magnetoreception System in Birds
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bpj.2010.03.053
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发表时间：
2010-07-07
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Schulten, Klaus
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Solov'yov, Ilia A.;Mouritsen, Henrik;Schulten, Klaus
鸟类的磁罗盘嵌入在视觉系统中，并且已经假设初级感觉机制基于自由基对反应。以前的磁感受模型假设自由基对形成分子在空间中是刚性固定的，这一假设一直是对所提出的假设的主要反对意见。在这篇文章中，我们从理论上研究了在多大程度上允许自由基对形成，基于蛋白质的磁罗盘在眼睛中保持功能。我们的研究表明，只有一个旋转自由度的自由基对形成蛋白质需要部分限制，而其他两个旋转自由度不影响磁感受性的蛋白质。这一结果意味着任何膜相关蛋白在其运动中都受到足够的限制，以发挥基于自由基对的磁感受器的功能。我们将我们的理论研究结果的隐花色素，目前被认为是最有可能的候选人提供激进的对为基础的磁感受。
The magnetic compass of birds is embedded in the visual system and it has been hypothesized that the primary sensory mechanism is based on a radical pair reaction. Previous models of magnetoreception have assumed that the radical pair-forming molecules are rigidly fixed in space, and this assumption has been a major objection to the suggested hypothesis. In this article, we investigate theoretically how much disorder is permitted for the radical pair-forming, protein-based magnetic compass in the eye to remain functional. Our study shows that only one rotational degree of freedom of the radical pair-forming protein needs to be partially constrained, while the other two rotational degrees of freedom do not impact the magnetoreceptive properties of the protein. The result implies that any membrane-associated protein is sufficiently restricted in its motion to function as a radical pair-based magnetoreceptor. We relate our theoretical findings to the cryptochromes, currently considered the likeliest candidate to furnish radical pair-based magnetoreception.