GDCh-Kolloquium Professor Christiane Timmel

Quantum Travellers – the Role of the Radical Pair Mechanism in Avian Magnetoreception

Here we report that the photochemistry of cryptochrome 4 from the night-migratory European robin
(Erithacus rubecula, ErCry4) is indeed magnetically sensitive in vitro, and compare the results to those
found for Cry4 from two non-migratory bird species, chicken and pigeon. Site-specific mutations of
ErCry4 in combination with Electron Paramagnetic Resonance studies are used to demonstrate the
roles of four successive flavin-tryptophan radical pairs in generating magnetic field effects and in
stabilising potential signalling states.

Reference: Xu J. et al., Nature, 2021, 594, 535-540.