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The retinal circuitry for magnetoreception in migratory birds

  • Pranav K. Seth

    Pranav K. Seth studied Zoology at the University of Delhi, India. He did his post-graduation in Biomedical Sciences and Animal Behavior at the University of Delhi and Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi, India. He is currently doing his PhD thesis under Prof. Dr. Henrik Mouritsen on determining the role of European robin Cry4 in magnetoreception using molecular techniques.

     ORCID logo     , Vaishnavi Balaji

    Vaishnavi Balaji studied Biotechnology at Manipal University, India, and received an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Neuroscience from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and University of Bordeaux. She joined the Animal Navigation group as a PhD student of apl. Prof. Dr. Karin Dedek to identify and characterize the retinal circuits involved in magnetoreception in European robins.

         and Karin Dedek

    Karin Dedek has been an apl. Professor in the Animal Navigation group (Prof. Henrik Mouritsen) at the University of Oldenburg since 2015. She obtained her PhD when working on ion channels with Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Jentsch at the Zentrum für Molekulare Neurobiologie Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany (Neurobiology group, Prof. Reto Weiler) and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA (Prof. Sheila Nirenberg) before becoming deputy head of the Neurobiology group from 2010 to 2015.

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Published/Copyright: June 30, 2021
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Neuroforum
From the journal Neuroforum Volume 27 Issue 3

Abstract

Night-migratory birds use the Earth’s magnetic field to determine the direction in which they want to migrate. Many studies suggest that this “magnetic compass sense” is light dependent and mediated by blue light sensors, called cryptochromes, which are expressed in the retina of night-migratory birds. In this review, we summarize the evidence that the avian retina processes not only visual information but also magnetic compass information. We also review the current knowledge on cryptochrome expression in the bird retina and highlight open questions which we aim to address within the framework of SFB 1372 Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates.

Zusammenfassung

Nachtziehende Vögel nutzen das Magnetfeld der Erde, um die Richtung zu bestimmen, in die sie ziehen möchten. Viele Studien legen nahe, dass dieser Magnet-Kompasssinn lichtabhängig ist und durch Blaulicht-Sensoren, sogenannte Cryptochrom-Moleküle, vermittelt wird, die in der Retina von nachtziehenden Vögeln gefunden wurden. In diesem Übersichtsartikel fassen wir das aktuelle Wissen über die Cryptochrom-Expression in der Netzhaut von Vögeln zusammen und heben offene Fragen hervor, die wir im Rahmen des SFB 1372 Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates beantworten möchten.

Keywords: cryptochrome; eye; magnetic field; magnetoreception; retina
Schlüsselwörter: Auge; Cryptochrom; Magnetfeld; Magnetrezeption; Retina
Corresponding author: Karin Dedek, Animal Navigation, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, E-mail:
Pranav K. Seth and Vaishnavi Balaji contributed equally to this work.

Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Award Identifier / Grant number: 395940726 – SFB1372

Award Identifier / Grant number: RTG 1885/1-2

Über die Autoren

Pranav K. Seth

Pranav K. Seth studied Zoology at the University of Delhi, India. He did his post-graduation in Biomedical Sciences and Animal Behavior at the University of Delhi and Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi, India. He is currently doing his PhD thesis under Prof. Dr. Henrik Mouritsen on determining the role of European robin Cry4 in magnetoreception using molecular techniques.

Vaishnavi Balaji

Vaishnavi Balaji studied Biotechnology at Manipal University, India, and received an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Neuroscience from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and University of Bordeaux. She joined the Animal Navigation group as a PhD student of apl. Prof. Dr. Karin Dedek to identify and characterize the retinal circuits involved in magnetoreception in European robins.

Karin Dedek

Karin Dedek has been an apl. Professor in the Animal Navigation group (Prof. Henrik Mouritsen) at the University of Oldenburg since 2015. She obtained her PhD when working on ion channels with Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Jentsch at the Zentrum für Molekulare Neurobiologie Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany (Neurobiology group, Prof. Reto Weiler) and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA (Prof. Sheila Nirenberg) before becoming deputy head of the Neurobiology group from 2010 to 2015.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Prof. Ilia Solov’yov for help with the schematic in Figure 1A.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB1372: Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates: from biophysics to brain and behavior. Grant number: 395940726 to KD.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Online erschienen: 2021-06-30
Erschienen im Druck: 2021-08-26

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates from quantum mechanics to neuroscience and behaviour
  4. Review articles
  5. Endless skies and open seas – how birds and fish navigate
  6. Navigation of migratory songbirds: a quantum magnetic compass sensor
  7. The secrets of cryptochromes: photoreceptors, clock proteins, and magnetic sensors
  8. The retinal circuitry for magnetoreception in migratory birds
  9. The neuronal correlates of the avian magnetic senses
  10. Book Review
  11. Frank W. Stahnisch: A new field in mind. A history of interdisciplinarity in the early brain sciences
  12. Presentation of scientific institutions
  13. DFG research unit 3004: “Synaptic pathology in autoimmune encephalitis” (SYNABS)
  14. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
  15. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
https://doi.org/10.1515/nf-2021-0007
Keywords for this article
cryptochrome; eye; magnetic field; magnetoreception; retina

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates from quantum mechanics to neuroscience and behaviour
  4. Review articles
  5. Endless skies and open seas – how birds and fish navigate
  6. Navigation of migratory songbirds: a quantum magnetic compass sensor
  7. The secrets of cryptochromes: photoreceptors, clock proteins, and magnetic sensors
  8. The retinal circuitry for magnetoreception in migratory birds
  9. The neuronal correlates of the avian magnetic senses
  10. Book Review
  11. Frank W. Stahnisch: A new field in mind. A history of interdisciplinarity in the early brain sciences
  12. Presentation of scientific institutions
  13. DFG research unit 3004: “Synaptic pathology in autoimmune encephalitis” (SYNABS)
  14. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
  15. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
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