Reaction kinetics and mechanism of magnetic field effects in cryptochrome.

ABSTRACT: Creatures as varied as mammals, fish, insects, reptiles, and birds have an intriguing sixth sense that allows them to orient themselves in the Earth's magnetic field. Despite decades of study, the physical basis of this magnetic sense remains elusive. A likely mechanism is furnished by magnetically sensitive radical pair reactions occurring in the retina, the light-sensitive part of animal eyes. A photoreceptor, cryptochrome, has been suggested to endow birds with magnetoreceptive abilities as the protein has been shown to exhibit the biophysical properties required for an animal magnetoreceptor to operate properly. Here, we propose a theoretical analysis method for identifying cryptochrome's signaling reactions involving comparison of measured and calculated reaction kinetics in cryptochr

SUBMITTER: Solov'yov IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3266978 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature