Magnetic compass of birds is based on a molecule with optimal directional sensitivity.

ABSTRACT: The avian magnetic compass has been well characterized in behavioral tests: it is an "inclination compass" based on the inclination of the field lines rather than on the polarity, and its operation requires short-wavelength light. The "radical pair" model suggests that these properties reflect the use of specialized photopigments in the primary process of magnetoreception; it has recently been supported by experimental evidence indicating a role of magnetically sensitive radical-pair processes in the avian magnetic compass. In a multidisciplinary approach subjecting migratory birds to oscillating fields and using their orientation responses as a criterion for unhindered magnetoreception, we identify key features of the underlying receptor molecules. Our observation of resonance effects at

SUBMITTER: Ritz T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2718301 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature