Animal cryptochromes mediate magnetoreception by an unconventional photochemical mechanism

Nature. 2010 Feb 11;463(7282):804-7. doi: 10.1038/nature08719. Epub 2010 Jan 24.

Abstract

Understanding the biophysical basis of animal magnetoreception has been one of the greatest challenges in sensory biology. Recently it was discovered that the light-dependent magnetic sense of Drosophila melanogaster is mediated by the ultraviolet (UV)-A/blue light photoreceptor cryptochrome (Cry). Here we show, using a transgenic approach, that the photoreceptive, Drosophila-like type 1 Cry and the transcriptionally repressive, vertebrate-like type 2 Cry of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) can both function in the magnetoreception system of Drosophila and require UV-A/blue light (wavelength below 420 nm) to do so. The lack of magnetic responses for both Cry types at wavelengths above 420 nm does not fit the widely held view that tryptophan triad-generated radical pairs mediate the ability of Cry to sense a magnetic field. We bolster this assessment by using a mutant form of Drosophila and monarch type 1 Cry and confirm that the tryptophan triad pathway is not crucial in magnetic transduction. Together, these results suggest that animal Crys mediate light-dependent magnetoreception through an unconventional photochemical mechanism. This work emphasizes the utility of Drosophila transgenesis for elucidating the precise mechanisms of Cry-mediated magnetosensitivity in insects and also in vertebrates such as migrating birds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animal Migration / physiology
  • Animal Migration / radiation effects
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Butterflies / genetics
  • Butterflies / metabolism*
  • Butterflies / radiation effects
  • Cryptochromes / deficiency
  • Cryptochromes / genetics
  • Cryptochromes / metabolism*
  • Drosophila Proteins / deficiency
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster / metabolism*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / radiation effects
  • Eye Proteins / genetics
  • Eye Proteins / metabolism
  • Magnetics*
  • Orientation / physiology
  • Orientation / radiation effects
  • Photochemical Processes* / radiation effects
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / metabolism
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / radiation effects
  • Transgenes / genetics

Substances

  • Cryptochromes
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Eye Proteins
  • cry protein, Drosophila
  • tim protein, Drosophila