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.