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Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors

The light-dependent magnetic compass sense of night-migratory songbirds is thought to rely on magnetically sensitive chemical reactions of radical pairs in cryptochrome proteins located in the birds’ eyes. Recently, an information theory approach was developed that provides a strict lower bound on t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ren, Yi, Hiscock, Hamish G., Hore, P.J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Biophysical Society 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7896030/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33421412
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.12.023
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author Ren, Yi
Hiscock, Hamish G.
Hore, P.J.
author_facet Ren, Yi
Hiscock, Hamish G.
Hore, P.J.
author_sort Ren, Yi
collection PubMed
description The light-dependent magnetic compass sense of night-migratory songbirds is thought to rely on magnetically sensitive chemical reactions of radical pairs in cryptochrome proteins located in the birds’ eyes. Recently, an information theory approach was developed that provides a strict lower bound on the precision with which a bird could estimate its head direction using only geomagnetic cues and a cryptochrome-based radical pair sensor. By means of this lower bound, we show here how the performance of the compass sense could be optimized by adjusting the orientation of cryptochrome molecules within photoreceptor cells, the distribution of cells around the retina, and the effects of the geomagnetic field on the photochemistry of the radical pair.
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spelling pubmed-78960302022-02-02 Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors Ren, Yi Hiscock, Hamish G. Hore, P.J. Biophys J Articles The light-dependent magnetic compass sense of night-migratory songbirds is thought to rely on magnetically sensitive chemical reactions of radical pairs in cryptochrome proteins located in the birds’ eyes. Recently, an information theory approach was developed that provides a strict lower bound on the precision with which a bird could estimate its head direction using only geomagnetic cues and a cryptochrome-based radical pair sensor. By means of this lower bound, we show here how the performance of the compass sense could be optimized by adjusting the orientation of cryptochrome molecules within photoreceptor cells, the distribution of cells around the retina, and the effects of the geomagnetic field on the photochemistry of the radical pair. The Biophysical Society 2021-02-02 2021-01-07 /pmc/articles/PMC7896030/ /pubmed/33421412 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.12.023 Text en © 2021 Biophysical Society. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Articles
Ren, Yi
Hiscock, Hamish G.
Hore, P.J.
Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title_full Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title_fullStr Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title_full_unstemmed Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title_short Angular Precision of Radical Pair Compass Magnetoreceptors
title_sort angular precision of radical pair compass magnetoreceptors
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7896030/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33421412
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.12.023
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