A novel concept of Fe-mineral-based magnetoreception: histological and physicochemical data from the upper beak of homing pigeons |
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Authors: | Gerta Fleissner Branko Stahl Peter Thalau Gerald Falkenberg Günther Fleissner |
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Institution: | 1.AG NCR, FB Biowissenschaften, J. W. Goethe-Universit?t,Frankfurt a. M.,Germany;2.Hamburger Synchrotronstrahlungslabor HASYLAB, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY,Hamburg,Germany |
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Abstract: | Animals make use of the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and regulation of vegetative functions; however, the anatomical
and physiological basis for the magnetic sense has not been elucidated yet. Our recent results from histology and X-ray analyses
support the hypothesis that delicate iron-containing structures in the skin of the upper beak of homing pigeons might serve
as a biological magnetometer. Histology has revealed various iron sites within dendrites of the trigeminal nerve, their arrangement
along strands of axons, the existence of three dendritic fields in each side of the beak with specific 3D-orientations, and
the bilateral symmetry of the whole system. Element mapping by micro-synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis has shown the
distribution of iron and its quantities. Micro-synchrotron X-ray absorption near-edge-structure spectroscopy has allowed us
to unambiguously identify maghemite as the predominating iron mineral (90 vs 10% magnetite). In this paper, we show that iron-based
magnetoreception needs the presence of both of these iron minerals, their specific dimensions, shapes, and arrangements in
three different subcellular compartments. We suggest that an inherent magnetic enhancement process via an iron-crusted vesicle
and the attached chains of iron platelets might be sufficient to account for the sensitivity and specificity required by such
a magnetoreceptor. The appropriate alignment between the Earth’s magnetic field and the maghemite bands would induce a multiple
attraction of the magnetite bullets perpendicular to the membrane, thus, triggering strain-sensitive membrane channels and
a primary receptor potential. Due to its 3D architecture and physicochemical nature, the dendritic system should be able to
separately sense the three vector components of the Earth’s local field, simultaneously—allowing birds to detect their geographic
position by the magnetic vector, i.e., amplitude and direction of the local magnetic field, irrespective of the animal’s posture
or movement and photoreception. |
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Keywords: | Biological magnetometer Maghemite Magnetite XRFS XANES |
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