Abstract
Evolution has equipped life on our planet with an array of extraordinary senses, but perhaps the least understood is magnetoreception. Despite compelling behavioral evidence that this sense exists, the cells, molecules, and mechanisms that mediate sensory transduction remain unknown. So how could animals detect magnetic fields? We introduce and discuss 3 concepts that attempt to address this question: (1) a mechanically sensitive magnetite-based magnetoreceptor, (2) a light-sensitive chemical-based mechanism, and (3) electromagnetic induction within accessory structures. In discussing the merits and issues with each of these ideas, we draw on existing precepts in sensory biology. We argue that solving this scientific mystery will require the development of new genetic tools in magnetosensitive species, coupled with an interdisciplinary approach that bridges physics, behavior, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, and genetics.
Highlights
Invented by the Chinese between 200 BC and 100 AD, the compass was first exploited by mariners as a tool around 1000 AD [1]
A sense that was utilized by pigeons as they delivered microfilm, strapped precariously to their tiny feet, as the city of Paris lay siege to the Prussians in the 19th century (Fig 1C and 1D). It was the Russian zoologist Alexander von Middendorff who was amongst the first to speculate that these animals might use the Earth’s magnetic field as a navigatory cue: Abbreviations: CRISPR-Cas9, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-Cas9; Cry, cryptochrome; EFTEM, energy filtered transmission electron microscopy; flavin adenine dinucletotide (FAD), flavin adenine dinucleotide; nT, nano-Tesla; RF, radio frequency
Declination, and intensity of the geomagnetic field are distinct geophysical parameters, each could be used as a navigation aid by migratory animals
Summary
Citation: Nordmann GC, Hochstoeger T, Keays DA (2017) Magnetoreception—A sense without a receptor. PLoS Biol 15(10): e2003234. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003234 Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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