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Rotov AY, Goriachenkov AA, Cherbunin RV, Firsov ML, Chernetsov N, Astakhova LA. Magnetoreceptory Function of European Robin Retina: Electrophysiological and Morphological Non-Homogeneity. Cells 2022; 11:cells11193056. [PMID: 36231018 PMCID: PMC9564291 DOI: 10.3390/cells11193056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The avian magnetic compass allows orientation during migration and is shown to function properly under short-wavelength but not long-wavelength visible light. Therefore, the magnetoreceptive system is assumed to be light- and wavelength-dependent and localized in the retina of the eye. Putative candidates for the role of primary magnetosensory molecules are the cryptochromes that are known to be expressed in the avian retina and must be able to interact with phototransduction proteins. Previously, we reported that in migratory birds change in magnetic field direction induces significant effects on electroretinogram amplitude in response to blue flashes, and such an effect was observed only in the nasal quadrant of the retina. Here, we report new electroretinographic, microscopic and microspectrophotometric data on European robins, confirming the magnetosensitivity of the retinal nasal quadrant after applying the background illumination. We hypothesized that magnetoreceptive distinction of this region may be related to its morphology and analyzed the retinal distribution and optical properties of oil droplets, the filtering structures within cones. We found that the nasal quadrant contains double cones with the most intensely colorized oil droplets compared to the rest of the retina, which may be related to its magnetosensory function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Yu. Rotov
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Arsenii A. Goriachenkov
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Roman V. Cherbunin
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Spin Optics Laboratory, Physics Faculty, St. Petersburg State University, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Michael L. Firsov
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Nikita Chernetsov
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, St. Petersburg State University, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Ornithology Lab, Zoological Institute RAS, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Luba A. Astakhova
- Laboratory of Evolution of the Sense Organs, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 194223 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Correspondence:
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Affiliation(s)
- Ujjwal Chakraborty
- Life Science Division, Moulasole R.B. High School, Moulasole, Bankura, West Bengal, India
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3
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Pinzon-Rodriguez A, Muheim R. Zebra finches have a light-dependent magnetic compass similar to migratory birds. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:1202-1209. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.148098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass that provides information about the spatial alignment of the geomagnetic field. It is proposed to be located in the avian retina and mediated by a light-induced, radical-pair mechanism involving cryptochromes as sensory receptor molecules. To investigate how the behavioural responses of birds under different light spectra match with cryptochromes as the primary magnetoreceptor, we examined the spectral properties of the magnetic compass in zebra finches. We trained birds to relocate a food reward in a spatial orientation task using magnetic compass cues. The birds were well oriented along the trained magnetic compass axis when trained and tested under low-irradiance 521 nm green light. In the presence of a 1.4 MHz radio-frequency electromagnetic (RF)-field, the birds were disoriented, which supports the involvement of radical-pair reactions in the primary magnetoreception process. Birds trained and tested under 638 nm red light showed a weak tendency to orient ∼45 deg clockwise of the trained magnetic direction. Under low-irradiance 460 nm blue light, they tended to orient along the trained magnetic compass axis, but were disoriented under higher irradiance light. Zebra finches trained and tested under high-irradiance 430 nm indigo light were well oriented along the trained magnetic compass axis, but disoriented in the presence of a RF-field. We conclude that magnetic compass responses of zebra finches are similar to those observed in nocturnally migrating birds and agree with cryptochromes as the primary magnetoreceptor, suggesting that light-dependent, radical-pair-mediated magnetoreception is a common property for all birds, including non-migratory species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rachel Muheim
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Biology Building B, Lund 223 62, Sweden
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Abstract
The ability to perceive geomagnetic fields (GMFs) represents a fascinating biological phenomenon. Studies on transgenic flies have provided evidence that photosensitive Cryptochromes (Cry) are involved in the response to magnetic fields (MFs). However, none of the studies tackled the problem of whether the Cry-dependent magnetosensitivity is coupled to the sole MF presence or to the direction of MF vector. In this study, we used gene silencing and a directional MF to show that mammalian-like Cry2 is necessary for a genuine directional response to periodic rotations of the GMF vector in two insect species. Longer wavelengths of light required higher photon fluxes for a detectable behavioral response, and a sharp detection border was present in the cyan/green spectral region. Both observations are consistent with involvement of the FADox, FAD(•-) and FADH(-) redox forms of flavin. The response was lost upon covering the eyes, demonstrating that the signal is perceived in the eye region. Immunohistochemical staining detected Cry2 in the hemispherical layer of laminal glia cells underneath the retina. Together, these findings identified the eye-localized Cry2 as an indispensable component and a likely photoreceptor of the directional GMF response. Our study is thus a clear step forward in deciphering the in vivo effects of GMF and supports the interaction of underlying mechanism with the visual system.
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Spontaneous expression of magnetic compass orientation in an epigeic rodent: the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:557-63. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1192-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2014] [Revised: 04/23/2014] [Accepted: 05/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Comorosan S, Polosan S, Jipa S, Popescu I, Marton G, Ionescu E, Cristache L, Badila D, Mitrica R. Green light radiation effects on free radicals inhibition in cellular and chemical systems. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2011; 102:39-44. [PMID: 20934350 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2010.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Revised: 08/25/2010] [Accepted: 09/06/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Free radicals generation is inhibited through green light (GL) irradiation in cellular systems and in chemical reactions. Standard melanocyte cultures were UV-irradiated and the induced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified by the fluorescence technique. The same cell cultures, previously protected by a 24h GL exposure, displayed a significantly lower ROS production. A simple chemical reaction is subsequently chosen, in which the production of free radicals is well defined. Paraffin wax and mineral oil were GL irradiated during thermal degradation and the oxidation products checked by chemiluminescence [CL] and Fourier transform infrared spectra [FT-IR]. The same clear inhibition of the radical oxidation of alkanes is recorded. A quantum chemistry modeling of these results is performed and a mechanism involving a new type of Rydberg macromolecular systems with implications for biology and medicine is suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sorin Comorosan
- Department of Biophysics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
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7
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Zapka M, Heyers D, Liedvogel M, Jarvis ED, Mouritsen H. Night-time neuronal activation of Cluster N in a day- and night-migrating songbird. Eur J Neurosci 2010; 32:619-24. [PMID: 20618826 PMCID: PMC2924469 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07311.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic compass orientation in a night-migratory songbird requires that Cluster N, a cluster of forebrain regions, is functional. Cluster N, which receives input from the eyes via the thalamofugal pathway, shows high neuronal activity in night-migrants performing magnetic compass-guided behaviour at night, whereas no activation is observed during the day, and covering up the birds’ eyes strongly reduces neuronal activation. These findings suggest that Cluster N processes light-dependent magnetic compass information in night-migrating songbirds. The aim of this study was to test if Cluster N is active during daytime migration. We used behavioural molecular mapping based on ZENK activation to investigate if Cluster N is active in the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), a day- and night-migratory species. We found that Cluster N of meadow pipits shows high neuronal activity under dim-light at night, but not under full room-light conditions during the day. These data suggest that, in day- and night-migratory meadow pipits, the light-dependent magnetic compass, which requires an active Cluster N, may only be used during night-time, whereas another magnetosensory mechanism and/or other reference system(s), like the sun or polarized light, may be used as primary orientation cues during the day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Zapka
- AG Neurosensorik, Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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Wiltschko R, Stapput K, Thalau P, Wiltschko W. Directional orientation of birds by the magnetic field under different light conditions. J R Soc Interface 2010; 7 Suppl 2:S163-77. [PMID: 19864263 PMCID: PMC2843996 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2009.0367.focus] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2009] [Accepted: 10/07/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper reviews the directional orientation of birds with the help of the geomagnetic field under various light conditions. Two fundamentally different types of response can be distinguished. (i) Compass orientation controlled by the inclination compass that allows birds to locate courses of different origin. This is restricted to a narrow functional window around the total intensity of the local geomagnetic field and requires light from the short-wavelength part of the spectrum. The compass is based on radical-pair processes in the right eye; magnetite-based receptors in the beak are not involved. Compass orientation is observed under 'white' and low-level monochromatic light from ultraviolet (UV) to about 565 nm green light. (ii) 'Fixed direction' responses occur under artificial light conditions such as more intense monochromatic light, when 590 nm yellow light is added to short-wavelength light, and in total darkness. The manifestation of these responses depends on the ambient light regime and is 'fixed' in the sense of not showing the normal change between spring and autumn; their biological significance is unclear. In contrast to compass orientation, fixed-direction responses are polar magnetic responses and occur within a wide range of magnetic intensities. They are disrupted by local anaesthesia of the upper beak, which indicates that the respective magnetic information is mediated by iron-based receptors located there. The influence of light conditions on the two types of response suggests complex interactions between magnetoreceptors in the right eye, those in the upper beak and the visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roswitha Wiltschko
- FB Biowissenschaften, J.W.Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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Kubo Y, Takeuchi T, Okano K, Okano T. Cryptochrome genes are highly expressed in the ovary of the African clawed frog, Xenopus tropicalis. PLoS One 2010; 5:e9273. [PMID: 20174658 PMCID: PMC2822860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2009] [Accepted: 01/26/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptochromes (CRYs) are flavoproteins sharing high homology with photolyases. Some of them have function(s) including transcription regulation in the circadian clock oscillation, blue-light photoreception for resetting the clock phase, and light-dependent magnetoreception. Vertebrates retain multiple sets of CRY or CRY-related genes, but their functions are yet unclear especially in the lower vertebrates. Although CRYs and the other circadian clock components have been extensively studied in the higher vertebrates such as mice, only a few model species have been studied in the lower vertebrates. In this study, we identified two CRYs, XtCRY1 and XtCRY2 in Xenopus tropicalis, an excellent experimental model species. Examination of tissue specificity of their mRNA expression by real-time PCR analysis revealed that both the XtCRYs showed extremely high mRNA expression levels in the ovary. The mRNA levels in the ovary were about 28-fold (XtCry1) and 48-fold (XtCry2) higher than levels in the next abundant tissues, the retina and kidney, respectively. For the functional analysis of the XtCRYs, we cloned circadian positive regulator XtCLOCK and XtBMAL1, and found circadian enhancer E-box in the upstream of XtPer1 gene. XtCLOCK and XtBMAL1 exhibited strong transactivation from the XtPer1 E-box element, and both the XtCRYs inhibited the XtCLOCK:XtBMAL1-mediated transactivation, thereby suggesting this element to drive the circadian transcription. These results revealed a conserved main feedback loop in the X. tropicalis circadian clockwork and imply a possible physiological importance of CRYs in the ovarian functions such as synthesis of steroid hormones and/or control of estrus cycles via the transcription regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoko Kubo
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takahiro Takeuchi
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Keiko Okano
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Okano
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
- Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Phillips JB, Jorge PE, Muheim R. Light-dependent magnetic compass orientation in amphibians and insects: candidate receptors and candidate molecular mechanisms. J R Soc Interface 2010; 7 Suppl 2:S241-56. [PMID: 20124357 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2009.0459.focus] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic compass orientation by amphibians, and some insects, is mediated by a light-dependent magnetoreception mechanism. Cryptochrome photopigments, best known for their role in circadian rhythms, are proposed to mediate such responses. In this paper, we explore light-dependent properties of magnetic sensing at three levels: (i) behavioural (wavelength-dependent effects of light on magnetic compass orientation), (ii) physiological (photoreceptors/photopigment systems with properties suggesting a role in magnetoreception), and (iii) molecular (cryptochrome-based and non-cryptochrome-based signalling pathways that are compatible with behavioural responses). Our goal is to identify photoreceptors and signalling pathways that are likely to play a specialized role in magnetoreception in order to definitively answer the question of whether the effects of light on magnetic compass orientation are mediated by a light-dependent magnetoreception mechanism, or instead are due to input from a non-light-dependent (e.g. magnetite-based) magnetoreception mechanism that secondarily interacts with other light-dependent processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B Phillips
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Derring Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
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Ritz T, Yoshii T, Helfrich-Foerster C, Ahmad M. Cryptochrome: A photoreceptor with the properties of a magnetoreceptor? Commun Integr Biol 2010; 3:24-7. [PMID: 20539777 PMCID: PMC2881235 DOI: 10.4161/cib.3.1.9865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2009] [Accepted: 08/20/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It was recently discovered that the photoreceptor cryptochrome is involved in mediating magnetosensitive entrainment of the internal clock of fruit flies.1 This discovery follows other recent studies implicating a role of cryptochrome in mediating magnetic sensitivity in orientation responses of fruit flies2,3 and growth responses of plants.4 Such widespread use of the same molecule for mediating magnetic sensitivity might suggest that cryptochrome is in some way optimal for detecting the magnetic field of the earth and that the magnetoreception function cannot be easily taken over by other molecules. This raises the question what properties might set cryptochromes apart from other molecules in terms of their ability to detect the geomagnetic field. Here, we will discuss possible answers to this question. We will first review the likely biophysical mechanism by which magnetic fields can be detected by a photoreceptor and discuss what constitutes an optimal photo-magneto-receptor. We will then discuss in how far cryptochrome matches the profile of an optimal molecule and what further steps are required for more conclusive answers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten Ritz
- Department of Physics and Astronomy; University of California at Irvine, CA USA
| | - T Yoshii
- University of Regensburg; Institute of Zoology; Regensburg, Germany
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12
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Jensen KK. Light-dependent orientation responses in animals can be explained by a model of compass cue integration. J Theor Biol 2010; 262:129-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2008] [Revised: 09/02/2009] [Accepted: 09/08/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Vácha M, Půzová T, Drstková D. Effect of light wavelength spectrum on magnetic compass orientation in Tenebrio molitor. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2008; 194:853-9. [PMID: 18696079 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-008-0356-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2007] [Revised: 07/08/2008] [Accepted: 07/20/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In many animal species, geomagnetic compass sensitivity has been demonstrated to depend on spectral composition of light to which moving animals are exposed. Besides a loss of magnetic orientation, cases of a shift in the compass direction by 90 degrees following a change in the colour of light have also been described. This hitherto unclear phenomenon can be explained either as a change in motivation or as a side effect of a light-dependent reception mechanism. Among the invertebrates, the 90 degrees shift has only been described in Drosophila. In this paper, another evidence of the phenomenon is reported. Learned compass orientation in the Tenebrio molitor was tested. If animals were trained to remember the magnetic position of a source of shortwave UV light and then tested in a circular arena in diffuse light of the same wavelength, they oriented according to the learned magnetic direction. If, however, they were tested in blue-green light after UV light training, their magnetic orientation shifted by 90 degrees CW. This result is being discussed as one of a few cases of 90 degrees shift reported to date, and as an argument corroborating the hypothesis of a close connection between photoreception and magnetoreception in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Vácha
- Department of Animal Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlárská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic.
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Liedvogel M, Maeda K, Henbest K, Schleicher E, Simon T, Timmel CR, Hore PJ, Mouritsen H. Chemical magnetoreception: bird cryptochrome 1a is excited by blue light and forms long-lived radical-pairs. PLoS One 2007; 2:e1106. [PMID: 17971869 PMCID: PMC2040520 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2007] [Accepted: 10/12/2007] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptochromes (Cry) have been suggested to form the basis of light-dependent magnetic compass orientation in birds. However, to function as magnetic compass sensors, the cryptochromes of migratory birds must possess a number of key biophysical characteristics. Most importantly, absorption of blue light must produce radical pairs with lifetimes longer than about a microsecond. Cryptochrome 1a (gwCry1a) and the photolyase-homology-region of Cry1 (gwCry1-PHR) from the migratory garden warbler were recombinantly expressed and purified from a baculovirus/Sf9 cell expression system. Transient absorption measurements show that these flavoproteins are indeed excited by light in the blue spectral range leading to the formation of radicals with millisecond lifetimes. These biophysical characteristics suggest that gwCry1a is ideally suited as a primary light-mediated, radical-pair-based magnetic compass receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Liedvogel
- VW Nachswuchgruppe Animal Navigation, IBU, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kiminori Maeda
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin Henbest
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Erik Schleicher
- Institut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - P. J. Hore
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- VW Nachswuchgruppe Animal Navigation, IBU, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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VISUAL MAGNETISM. J Exp Biol 2007. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.011767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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