Journal
NATURE
Volume 406, Issue 6793, Pages 299-302Publisher
MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS LTD
DOI: 10.1038/35018561
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The key behavioural, physiological and anatomical components of a magnetite-based magnetic sense have been demonstrated in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)(1). Candidate receptor cells located within a discrete sub-layer of the olfactory lamellae contained iron-rich crystals that were similar in size and shape to magnetite crystals extracted from salmon(1,2). Here we show that these crystals, which mapped to individual receptors using confocal and atomic force microscopy, are magnetic, as they are uniquely associated with dipoles detected by magnetic force microscopy. Analysis of their magnetic properties identifies the crystals as single-domain magnetite. In addition, three-dimensional reconstruction of the candidate receptors using confocal and atomic force microscopy imaging confirm that several magnetic crystals are arranged in a chain of about 1 mm within the receptor, and that the receptor is a multi-lobed single cell. These results are consistent with a magnetite-based detection mechanism(2,3), as 1-mu m chains of single-domain magnetite crystals are highly suitable for the behavioural and physiological responses to magnetic intensity previously reported in the trout.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available