Journal
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Volume 56, Issue 29, Pages 8550-8554Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201700389
Keywords
distance measurements; electron transfer; EPR spectroscopy; photomagnetoreception; radical pairs
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Funding
- DFG (RTG) [13]
- SIBW/DFG
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Light-generated short-lived radial pairs have been suggested to play pivotal roles in cryptochromes and photolyases. Cryptochromes are very probably involved in magnetic compass sensing in migratory birds and the magnetic-field-dependent behavior of insects. We examined photo-generated transient states in the cryptochrome of Drosophila melanogaster and in the structurally related DNA-repair enzyme Escherichia coli DNA photolyase. Using pulsed EPR spectroscopy, the exchange and dipolar contributions to the electron spin-spin interaction were determined in a straightforward and direct way. With these parameters, radical-pair partners may be identified and the magnetoreceptor efficiency of cryptochromes can be evaluated. We present compelling evidence for an extended electron-transfer cascade in the Drosophila cryptochrome, and identified W394 as a key residue for flavin photoreduction and formation of a spin-correlated radical pair with a sufficient lifetime for high-sensitivity magnetic-field sensing.
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