Decrypting cryptochrome: revealing the molecular identity of the photoactivation reaction.

ABSTRACT: Migrating birds fly thousands of miles or more, often without visual cues and in treacherous winds, yet keep direction. They employ for this purpose, apparently as a powerful navigational tool, the photoreceptor protein cryptochrome to sense the geomagnetic field. The unique biological function of cryptochrome supposedly arises from a photoactivation reaction involving radical pair formation through electron transfer. Radical pairs, indeed, can act as a magnetic compass; however, the cryptochrome photoreaction pathway is not fully resolved yet. To reveal this pathway and underlying photochemical mechanisms, we carried out a combination of quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations on plant ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) cryptochrome. The results demonstrate that after photo

SUBMITTER: Solov'yov IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3500783 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature