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Dybus A, Kulig H, Grzesiak W, Domke J, Yu YH, Cheng YH. Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Serine Protein Kinase ( CASK) Gene Polymorphisms in Pigeons. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2070. [PMID: 37443867 DOI: 10.3390/ani13132070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) is an multidomain protein involved in tissue development and cell signalling. In skeletal muscle, it is involved in the development of neuromuscular junctions. The participation of a pigeon in racing is a great physical effort that causes many changes in the skeletal muscles. Thus, the purpose of the study was to detect the nucleotide sequence variability in the calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine kinase (CASK) gene in domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) and assess the potential impact of DNA polymorphisms on the flight performance of pigeons. The research included a total of 517 individuals. DNA was extracted from the blood. A DNA fragment from nucleotides 8689 to 9049 of the CASK (NW_004973256.1 sequence) of six unrelated pigeons were sequenced. One of the detected polymorphic sites (g.8893G > A), located a very close to the start codon, was selected for genotyping in all individuals. The association studies included a total of 311 young homing pigeons that participated in racing competitions. The homing pigeons showed higher frequencies of the AA genotype than non-homing ones (p < 0.05). In rock pigeons only the GG genotype was found. Further research could confirm the functionality of the CASK g.8893G > A SNP in shaping the racing phenotype of pigeons, and the AA genotype could be useful as a selection criterion in pigeon breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Dybus
- Department of Genetics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Aleja Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Hanna Kulig
- Department of Genetics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Aleja Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Wilhelm Grzesiak
- Laboratory of Biostatistics, Department of Ruminant Science, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Klemensa Janickiego 29, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Justyna Domke
- Department of Genetics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Aleja Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Yu-Hsiang Yu
- Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, National Ilan University, No.1, Sec. 1, Shennong Rd., Yilan City 26047, Taiwan
| | - Yeong-Hsiang Cheng
- Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, National Ilan University, No.1, Sec. 1, Shennong Rd., Yilan City 26047, Taiwan
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2
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Lu M, Lee Y, Lillehoj HS. Evolution of developmental and comparative immunology in poultry: The regulators and the regulated. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 138:104525. [PMID: 36058383 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2022.104525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Avian has a unique immune system that evolved in response to environmental pressures in all aspects of innate and adaptive immune responses, including localized and circulating lymphocytes, diversity of immunoglobulin repertoire, and various cytokines and chemokines. All of these attributes make birds an indispensable vertebrate model for studying the fundamental immunological concepts and comparative immunology. However, research on the immune system in birds lags far behind that of humans, mice, and other agricultural animal species, and limited immune tools have hindered the adequate application of birds as disease models for mammalian systems. An in-depth understanding of the avian immune system relies on the detailed studies of various regulated and regulatory mediators, such as cell surface antigens, cytokines, and chemokines. Here, we review current knowledge centered on the roles of avian cell surface antigens, cytokines, chemokines, and beyond. Moreover, we provide an update on recent progress in this rapidly developing field of study with respect to the availability of immune reagents that will facilitate the study of regulatory and regulated components of poultry immunity. The new information on avian immunity and available immune tools will benefit avian researchers and evolutionary biologists in conducting fundamental and applied research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingmin Lu
- Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
| | - Youngsub Lee
- Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
| | - Hyun S Lillehoj
- Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
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3
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Abstract
The ability to detect magnetic fields is a sensory modality that is used by many animals to navigate. While first postulated in the 1800s, for decades, it was considered a biological myth. A series of elegant behavioral experiments in the 1960s and 1970s showed conclusively that the sense is real; however, the underlying mechanism(s) remained unresolved. Consequently, this has given rise to a series of beliefs that are critically analyzed in this manuscript. We address six assertions: (1) Magnetoreception does not exist; (2) It has to be magnetite; (3) Birds have a conserved six loci magnetic sense system in their upper beak; (4) It has to be cryptochrome; (5) MagR is a protein biocompass; and (6) The electromagnetic induction hypothesis is dead. In advancing counter-arguments for these beliefs, we hope to stimulate debate, new ideas, and the design of well-controlled experiments that can aid our understanding of this fascinating biological phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Nimpf
- Division of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, 82152 Munich, Germany
| | - David A Keays
- Division of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, 82152 Munich, Germany.,University of Cambridge, Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, Downing Street, CB2 3EG Cambridge, UK.,Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Campus- Vienna-Biocenter 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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4
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Prussian blue technique is prone to yield false negative results in magnetoreception research. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8803. [PMID: 35614116 PMCID: PMC9132912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12398-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perls’s Prussian blue staining technique has been used in magnetoreception research to screen tissues for iron-rich structures as proxies for putative magnetoreceptor structures based on magnetic particles. However, seemingly promising structural candidates in the upper beak of birds detected with Prussian blue turned out to be either irreproducible or located in non-neuronal cells, which has spurred a controversy that has not been settled yet. Here we identify possible pitfalls in the previous works and apply the Prussian blue technique to tissues implicated in magnetic-particle-based magnetoreception, in an effort to reassess its suitability for staining single-domain magnetite, i.e., the proposed magnetic substrate for the interaction with the external magnetic field. In the upper beak of night-migratory songbirds, we found staining products in great numbers, but not remotely associated with fiber terminals of the traced ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. Surprisingly, staining products were absent from the lamina propria in the olfactory rosette of rainbow trout where candidate magnetoreceptor structures were identified with different techniques earlier. Critically, magnetosome chains in whole cells of magnetotactic bacteria remained unstained. The failure to label single-domain magnetite in positive control samples is a serious limitation of the technique and suggests that two most influential but antipodal studies conducted previously stood little chances of obtaining correct positive results under the assumption that magnetosome-like particles were present in the tissues. Nonetheless, the staining technique appears suitable to identify tissue contamination with iron-rich fine dust trapped in epithelia already in vivo.
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Haase K, Musielak I, Warmuth-Moles L, Leberecht B, Zolotareva A, Mouritsen H, Heyers D. In Search for the Avian Trigeminal Magnetic Sensor: Distribution of Peripheral and Central Terminals of Ophthalmic Sensory Neurons in the Night-Migratory Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:853401. [PMID: 35321391 PMCID: PMC8936129 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.853401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In night-migratory songbirds, neurobiological and behavioral evidence suggest the existence of a magnetic sense associated with the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1), possibly providing magnetic positional information. Curiously, neither the unequivocal existence, structural nature, nor the exact location of any sensory structure has been revealed to date. Here, we used neuronal tract tracing to map both the innervation fields in the upper beak and the detailed trigeminal brainstem terminations of the medial and lateral V1 subbranches in the night-migratory Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). The medial V1 subbranch takes its course along the ventral part of the upper beak to innervate subepidermal layers and the mucosa of the nasal cavity, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch runs along dorsolateral levels until the nostrils to innervate mainly the skin of the upper beak. In the trigeminal brainstem, medial V1 terminals innervate both the dorsal part and the ventral, magnetically activated part of the principal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (PrV). In contrast, the lateral V1 subbranch innervates only a small part of the ventral PrV. The spinal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (SpV) receive topographically ordered projections. The medial V1 subbranch mainly innervates rostral and medial parts of SpV, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch mainly innervates the lateral and caudal parts of SpV. The present findings could provide valuable information for further analysis of the trigeminal magnetic sense of birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Haase
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Isabelle Musielak
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Leonie Warmuth-Moles
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Bo Leberecht
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Anna Zolotareva
- Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Dominik Heyers,
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Jandačka P, Burda H, Ščučka J. Investigating the impact of weak geomagnetic fluctuations on pigeon races. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:177-184. [PMID: 35088124 PMCID: PMC8918452 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01534-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The existence of avian magnetic orientation has been proved by many experimental studies, however, evidence for the use of magnetic cues by homing pigeons remains controversial. To investigate magnetic orientation by homing pigeons, we analyzed the results of pigeon races relative to weak fluctuations in the geomagnetic field, assuming that such disturbances could impact navigational efficiency if based on magnetoreception. Whereas most of the previous studies recorded and analyzed vanishing bearing of individually released pigeons, we evaluated relative duration of the homeward flight (homing speed, as a proxy of navigational efficiency) and its dependence on specific geomagnetic indices in racing pigeons released collectively. Our analysis of orientation efficiency of about 289 pigeon races over 15 years suggested slight negative correlations between geomagnetic fluctuations and homing time. Although the interpretation of this finding is manifold and not clear, it suggests that natural magnetic variations or disturbances can affect the homing orientation performance of pigeons. We suggest that studying pigeon races may have a heuristic potential and since these races are regularly and frequently organized in many countries all over the globe, examining homing performance relative to a suite of environmental variables may be useful for exploring hypotheses about pigeon navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Jandačka
- 7775 Company, Evžena Rošického 1062/3, 721 00, Ostrava-Svinov, Czech Republic
| | - Hynek Burda
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
| | - Jiří Ščučka
- Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Studentská 1768, 708 33, Ostrava, Czech Republic
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7
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Engels S, Treiber CD, Salzer MC, Michalik A, Ushakova L, Keays DA, Mouritsen H, Heyers D. Lidocaine is a nocebo treatment for trigeminally mediated magnetic orientation in birds. J R Soc Interface 2018; 15:20180124. [PMID: 30089685 PMCID: PMC6127160 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Even though previously described iron-containing structures in the upper beak of pigeons were almost certainly macrophages, not magnetosensitive neurons, behavioural and neurobiological evidence still supports the involvement of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1) in magnetoreception. In previous behavioural studies, inactivation of putative V1-associated magnetoreceptors involved either application of the surface anaesthetic lidocaine to the upper beak or sectioning of V1. Here, we compared the effects of lidocaine treatment, V1 ablations and sham ablations on magnetic field-driven neuronal activation in V1-recipient brain regions in European robins. V1 sectioning led to significantly fewer Egr-1-expressing neurons in the trigeminal brainstem than in the sham-ablated birds, whereas lidocaine treatment had no effect on neuronal activation. Furthermore, Prussian blue staining showed that nearly all iron-containing cells in the subepidermal layer of the upper beak are nucleated and are thus not part of the trigeminal nerve, and iron-containing cells appeared in highly variable numbers at inconsistent locations between individual robins and showed no systematic colocalization with a neuronal marker. Our data suggest that lidocaine treatment has been a nocebo to the birds and a placebo for the experimenters. Currently, the nature and location of any V1-associated magnetosensor remains elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja Engels
- AG Neurosensorics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Andreas Michalik
- AG Neurosensorics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Henrik Mouritsen
- AG Neurosensorics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- AG Neurosensorics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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8
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Krichen S, Liu L, Sharma P. Biological cell as a soft magnetoelectric material: Elucidating the physical mechanisms underpinning the detection of magnetic fields by animals. Phys Rev E 2017; 96:042404. [PMID: 29347612 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.96.042404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Sharks, birds, bats, turtles, and many other animals can detect magnetic fields. Aside from using this remarkable ability to exploit the terrestrial magnetic field map to sense direction, a subset is also able to implement a version of the so-called geophysical positioning system. How do these animals detect magnetic fields? The answer to this rather deceptively simple question has proven to be quite elusive. The currently prevalent theories, while providing interesting insights, fall short of explaining several aspects of magnetoreception. For example, minute magnetic particles have been detected in magnetically sensitive animals. However, how is the detected magnetic field converted into electrical signals given any lack of experimental evidence for relevant electroreceptors? In principle, a magnetoelectric material is capable of converting magnetic signals into electricity (and vice versa). This property, however, is rare and restricted to a rather small set of exotic hard crystalline materials. Indeed, such elements have never been detected in the animals studied so far. In this work we quantitatively outline the conditions under which a biological cell may detect a magnetic field and convert it into electrical signals detectable by biological cells. Specifically, we prove the existence of an overlooked strain-mediated mechanism and show that most biological cells can act as nontrivial magnetoelectric materials provided that the magnetic permeability constant is only slightly more than that of a vacuum. The enhanced magnetic permeability is easily achieved by small amounts of magnetic particles that have been experimentally detected in magnetosensitive animals. Our proposed mechanism appears to explain most of the experimental observations related to the physical basis of magnetoreception.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Krichen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
| | - L Liu
- Department of Mathematics and Department of Mechanical Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - P Sharma
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA.,Department of Physics, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
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9
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Heyers D, Elbers D, Bulte M, Bairlein F, Mouritsen H. The magnetic map sense and its use in fine-tuning the migration programme of birds. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:491-497. [PMID: 28365788 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1164-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Revised: 03/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The Earth's magnetic field is one of several natural cues, which migratory birds can use to derive directional ("compass") information for orientation on their biannual migratory journeys. Moreover, magnetic field effects on prominent aspects of the migratory programme of birds, such as migratory restlessness behaviour, fuel deposition and directional orientation, implicate that geomagnetic information can also be used to derive positional ("map") information. While the magnetic "compass" in migratory birds is likely to be based on radical pair-forming molecules embedded in their visual system, the sensory correlates underlying a magnetic "map" sense currently remain elusive. Behavioural, physiological and neurobiological findings indicate that the sensor is most likely innervated by the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve and based on magnetic iron particles. Information from this unknown sensor is neither necessary nor sufficient for a functional magnetic compass, but instead could contribute important components of a multifactorial "map" for global positioning. Positional information could allow migratory birds to make vitally important dynamic adaptations of their migratory programme at any relevant point during their journeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Heyers
- AG Animal Navigation, Faculty of Biology/Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany. .,Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
| | - D Elbers
- AG Animal Navigation, Faculty of Biology/Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.,AG Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine/Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - M Bulte
- , Schmidtkunzstraße 13, 86199, Augsburg, Germany.,Institute for Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - F Bairlein
- Institute for Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - H Mouritsen
- AG Animal Navigation, Faculty of Biology/Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany
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10
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Magnetic activation in the brain of the migratory northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:591-600. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1167-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Revised: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- P. J. Hore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom;
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, DE-26111 Oldenburg, Germany;
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, DE-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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12
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Schwarze S, Schneider NL, Reichl T, Dreyer D, Lefeldt N, Engels S, Baker N, Hore PJ, Mouritsen H. Weak Broadband Electromagnetic Fields are More Disruptive to Magnetic Compass Orientation in a Night-Migratory Songbird (Erithacus rubecula) than Strong Narrow-Band Fields. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:55. [PMID: 27047356 PMCID: PMC4801848 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic compass orientation in night-migratory songbirds is embedded in the visual system and seems to be based on a light-dependent radical pair mechanism. Recent findings suggest that both broadband electromagnetic fields ranging from ~2 kHz to ~9 MHz and narrow-band fields at the so-called Larmor frequency for a free electron in the Earth's magnetic field can disrupt this mechanism. However, due to local magnetic fields generated by nuclear spins, effects specific to the Larmor frequency are difficult to understand considering that the primary sensory molecule should be organic and probably a protein. We therefore constructed a purpose-built laboratory and tested the orientation capabilities of European robins in an electromagnetically silent environment, under the specific influence of four different oscillating narrow-band electromagnetic fields, at the Larmor frequency, double the Larmor frequency, 1.315 MHz or 50 Hz, and in the presence of broadband electromagnetic noise covering the range from ~2 kHz to ~9 MHz. Our results indicated that the magnetic compass orientation of European robins could not be disrupted by any of the relatively strong narrow-band electromagnetic fields employed here, but that the weak broadband field very efficiently disrupted their orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schwarze
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Nils-Lasse Schneider
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Reichl
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - David Dreyer
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Nele Lefeldt
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Svenja Engels
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Neville Baker
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry LaboratoryOxford, UK
| | - P. J. Hore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry LaboratoryOxford, UK
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; ,
- Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; ,
- Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany;
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14
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Shaw J, Boyd A, House M, Woodward R, Mathes F, Cowin G, Saunders M, Baer B. Magnetic particle-mediated magnetoreception. J R Soc Interface 2015; 12:0499. [PMID: 26333810 PMCID: PMC4614459 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 08/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural studies underpin the weight of experimental evidence for the existence of a magnetic sense in animals. In contrast, studies aimed at understanding the mechanistic basis of magnetoreception by determining the anatomical location, structure and function of sensory cells have been inconclusive. In this review, studies attempting to demonstrate the existence of a magnetoreceptor based on the principles of the magnetite hypothesis are examined. Specific attention is given to the range of techniques, and main animal model systems that have been used in the search for magnetite particulates. Anatomical location/cell rarity and composition are identified as two key obstacles that must be addressed in order to make progress in locating and characterizing a magnetite-based magnetoreceptor cell. Avenues for further study are suggested, including the need for novel experimental, correlative, multimodal and multidisciplinary approaches. The aim of this review is to inspire new efforts towards understanding the cellular basis of magnetoreception in animals, which will in turn inform a new era of behavioural research based on first principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Shaw
- Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Alastair Boyd
- Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Michael House
- School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Robert Woodward
- School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Falko Mathes
- School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Gary Cowin
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Martin Saunders
- Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Boris Baer
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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15
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Jandacka P, Burda H, Pistora J. Magnetically induced behaviour of ferritin corpuscles in avian ears: can cuticulosomes function as magnetosomes? J R Soc Interface 2015; 12:20141087. [PMID: 25551148 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetoreception is an enigmatic, poorly understood sensory ability, described mainly on the basis of behavioural studies in animals of diverse taxa. Recently, corpuscles containing superparamagnetic iron-storage protein ferritin were found in the inner ear hair cells of birds, a predominantly single ferritin corpuscle per cell. It was suggested that these corpuscles might represent magnetosomes and function as magnetosensors. Here we determine ferritin low-field paramagnetic susceptibility to estimate its magnetically induced intracellular behaviour. Physical simulations show that ferritin corpuscles cannot be deformed or rotate in weak geomagnetic fields, and thus cannot provide magnetoreception via deformation of the cuticular plate. Furthermore, we reached an alternative hypothesis that ferritin corpuscle in avian ears may function as an intracellular electromagnetic oscillator. Such an oscillator would generate additional cellular electric potential related to normal cell conditions. Though the phenomenon seems to be weak, this effect deserves further analyses.
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Lefeldt N, Heyers D, Schneider NL, Engels S, Elbers D, Mouritsen H. Magnetic field-driven induction of ZENK in the trigeminal system of pigeons (Columba livia). J R Soc Interface 2015; 11:20140777. [PMID: 25232052 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2014.0777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetoreception remains one of the few unsolved mysteries in sensory biology. The upper beak, which is innervated by the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1), has been suggested to contain magnetic sensors based on ferromagnetic structures. Recently, its existence in pigeons has been seriously challenged by studies suggesting that the previously described iron-accumulations are macrophages, not magnetosensitive nerve endings. This raised the fundamental question of whether V1 is involved in magnetoreception in pigeons at all. We exposed pigeons to either a constantly changing magnetic field (CMF), to a zero magnetic field providing no magnetic information, or to CMF conditions after V1 was cut bilaterally. Using immediate early genes as a marker of neuronal responsiveness, we report that the trigeminal brainstem nuclei of pigeons, which receive V1 input, are activated under CMF conditions and that this neuronal activation disappears if the magnetic stimuli are removed or if V1 is cut. Our data suggest that the trigeminal system in pigeons is involved in processing magnetic field information and that V1 transmits this information from currently unknown, V1-associated magnetosensors to the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nele Lefeldt
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Nils-Lasse Schneider
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Svenja Engels
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dana Elbers
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- AG Neurosensorik/Animal Navigation, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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Lüdemann G, Solov’yov IA, Kubař T, Elstner M. Solvent Driving Force Ensures Fast Formation of a Persistent and Well-Separated Radical Pair in Plant Cryptochrome. J Am Chem Soc 2015; 137:1147-56. [DOI: 10.1021/ja510550g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Lüdemann
- Department
for Theoretical Chemical Biology, Institute for Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Ilia A. Solov’yov
- Department
of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Tomáš Kubař
- Department
for Theoretical Chemical Biology, Institute for Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Marcus Elstner
- Department
for Theoretical Chemical Biology, Institute for Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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