Bolte, Petra and Bleibaum, Florian and Einwich, Angelika and Günther, Anja and Liedvogel, Miriam and Heyers, Dominik and Depping, Anne and Wöhlbrand, Lars and Rabus, Ralf and Janssen-Bienhold, Ulrike and Mouritsen, Henrik (2016) Localisation of the putative magnetoreceptive protein cryptochrome 1b in the retinae of migratory birds and homing pigeons. PLoS ONE, 11 (3). e0147819. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Cryptochromes are ubiquitously expressed in various animal tissues including the retina. Some cryptochromes are involved in regulating circadian activity. Cryptochrome proteins have also been suggested to mediate the primary mechanism in light-dependent magnetic compass orientation in birds. Cryptochrome 1b (Cry1b) exhibits a unique carboxy terminus exclusively found in birds so far, which might be indicative for a specialised function. Cryptochrome 1a (Cry1a) is so far the only cryptochrome protein that has been localised to specific cell types within the retina of migratory birds. Here we show that Cry1b, an alternative splice variant of Cry1a, is also expressed in the retina of migratory birds, but it is primarily located in other cell types than Cry1a. This could suggest different functions for the two splice products. Using diagnostic bird-specific antibodies (that allow for a precise discrimination between both proteins), we show that Cry1b protein is found in the retinae of migratory European robins (Erithacus rubecula), migratory Northern Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) and pigeons (Columba livia). In all three species, retinal Cry1b is localised in cell types which have been discussed as potentially well suited locations for magnetoreception: Cry1b is observed in the cytosol of ganglion cells, displaced ganglion cells, and in photoreceptor inner segments. The cytosolic rather than nucleic location of Cry1b in the retina reported here speaks against a circadian clock regulatory function of Cry1b and it allows for the possible involvement of Cry1b in a radical-pair-based magnetoreception mechanism.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publiziert mit Hilfe des DFG-geförderten Open Access-Publikationsfonds der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Antibodies, Retina, Ganglion cells, Photoreceptors, Birds, Pigeons, Animal migration, Immunocytochemistry
Subjects:	Science and mathematics > Life sciences, biology Science and mathematics > Animals (zoology)
Divisions:	Faculty of Mathematics and Science > Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences (IBU)
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2017 12:10
Last Modified:	23 Jun 2017 12:46
URI:	https://oops.uni-oldenburg.de/id/eprint/2922
URN:	urn:nbn:de:gbv:715-oops-30033
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0147819
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