Structural determinants of avian magnetoreception (Sig03)

为了全面了解磁接收和脊椎动物导航，重要的是表征发生磁场生物物理检测的主要感觉蛋白，并了解主要感觉事件如何转化为启动下游信号级联的结构变化。在Sig03项目中，我们将使用分子冷冻电子显微镜和单粒子重建来阐明隐花色素的构象光谱。分析鸟类隐花色素在特定磁场下的构象状态，将使我们能够揭示这一磁性传感过程的核心分子机制。

To achieve a comprehensive understanding of magnetoreception and vertebrate navigation, it is important to characterize the primary sensory proteins in which the biophysical detection of magnetic fields takes place, and to understand how the primary sensing event is translated into structural changes initiating the downstream signalling cascade. In project Sig03 we will elucidate the conformational spectrum of cryptochrome using molecular cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction. Analysis of the conformational states of an avian cryptochrome at defined magnetic fields, will allow us to uncover the molecular mechanisms at the heart of this magnetic sensing process.