Cryptochromes as molecular triggers in magnetoreceptive cell responses (Sig04)

• Subject Area: Biochemistry
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395940726

To achieve a comprehensive understanding of magnetoreception and vertebrate navigation, it is important to identify the molecules that interact with the primary magnetic sensors and the molecules in a downstream signalling cascade that eventually trigger a change in the membrane potential of the primary signalling cascade. We aim to identify the key signalling step(s) in this transduction cascade that connect the radical-pair reaction in a cryptochrome (Cry) molecule to a change in membrane potential. We aim to identify the target proteins of Cry4a (or any other Cry molecules), which create downstream cellular responses including protein-membrane interaction. We therefore focus on characterising Cry mediated binding processes using biochemical and biophysical methods. Our studies also aim at characterising the trigger events in Cry proteins by determining the conformational changes initiating the signalling cascade.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1372: Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates: from biophysics to brain and behaviour
• Applicant Institution: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Karl-Wilhelm Koch