AsianScientist (Nov. 30, 2015) – Researchers at Peking University have discovered a biological compass that helps fruit flies use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. Their discovery of a novel magnetoreceptor protein, reported in Nature Materials, suggests a biocompass model for animal magnetoreception and navigation.
The magnetic sense is an unresolved biological mystery. While the molecular detail of animal senses such as vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch are well understood, much remains unknown about how animals use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate.
Dr. Xie Can and his colleagues from the School of Life Sciences, screened the genome of fruit flies on the basis of rational biological assumptions. They identified a novel magnetoreceptor (named MagR) that couples with units of a light-sensitive cryptochrome protein (Cry) and spontaneously aligns in the direction of external magnetic fields.
Using biochemical and biophysical methods, the research team also demonstrated that the MagR/Cry complex is stable in the retina of pigeons and is evolutionarily conserved from insects to humans, spanning fruit flies, butterflies, pigeons, robins, rats, mole rats, sharks and turtles.
The biocompass model proposed in the study may serve as a universal machinery for animal magnetoreception and might ultimately help uncover the mystery of animal navigation and homing.
The protein’s magnetic properties could also lead to a broad range of magnetic-field-induced applications including manipulation of macromolecules, modulation of biological processes and magnetogenetics.
The article can be found at: Qin et al. (2015) A Magnetic Protein Biocompass.
———
Source: Peking University; Photo: Calsidyrose/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
